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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern More Lighting
Plastic
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Glass
20th Century American Modern More Lighting
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Glass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Metal
20th Century Italian Modern More Lighting
Nickel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Swedish Modern More Lighting
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Danish Modern More Lighting
Iron, Aluminum
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Stoneware
2010s Spanish Modern More Lighting
Sheepskin
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern More Lighting
Metal
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern More Lighting
Stone, Metal
2010s British Modern More Lighting
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern More Lighting
Porcelain
2010s American Modern More Lighting
Metal, Iron, Steel, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Gold Plate
2010s Australian Modern More Lighting
Bronze
2010s Danish Modern More Lighting
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Rattan
2010s Danish Modern More Lighting
Bronze, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern More Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Murano Glass
2010s North Korean Modern More Lighting
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Glass
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Bronze
2010s Indian Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern More Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Crystal, Brass
2010s French Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Other
2010s South African Modern More Lighting
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern More Lighting
Foam, Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Lighting
Glass
2010s Italian Modern More Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern More Lighting
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern More Lighting
Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass