Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Fiberglass
2010s Austrian Modern Lighting
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Aluminum
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Metal, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lighting
Alabaster, Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Crystal, Gold, Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Lighting
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Lighting
Porcelain
Early 2000s French Modern Lighting
Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Taiwanese Modern Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Lighting
Silk
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal
2010s French Modern Lighting
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Blown Glass
1950s Finnish Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Lighting
Brass, Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass, Copper, Pewter
1970s French Vintage Modern Lighting
Nickel
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Alabaster, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
1980s German Vintage Modern Lighting
Chrome, Metal
2010s European Modern Lighting
Wood, Lacquer, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Metal, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s Australian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s North American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Lighting
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Lighting
Ceramic
Modern lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
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