Modern More Lighting
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Lighting
Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Blown Glass
2010s Dutch Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Metal
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Metal
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Metal
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Metal
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Metal
2010s Swedish Modern More Lighting
Iron
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern More Lighting
Foam, Plaster
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Travertine
2010s Danish Modern More Lighting
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Glass
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Indian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ghanaian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ghanaian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Ceramic, Stoneware
2010s Danish Modern More Lighting
Iron, Aluminum
2010s Canadian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Plywood
2010s North American Modern More Lighting
Enamel, Nickel, Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Lighting
Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern More Lighting
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Plastic
2010s American Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Bronze, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Lighting
Bronze
2010s North American Modern More Lighting
Bronze, Enamel, Nickel, Brass