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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lighting
Copper
2010s British Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Australian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Blown Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Travertine, Marble, Brass, Bronze
1980s German Vintage Modern Lighting
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lighting
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Lighting
Brass, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Australian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Silver Leaf, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Crystal, Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Lighting
Alabaster
2010s Canadian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Other
2010s American Modern Lighting
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lighting
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Steel, Metal, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s British Modern Lighting
Blown Glass, Mirror
2010s American Modern Lighting
Travertine, Marble
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Marble, Travertine, Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lighting
Oak
2010s French Modern Lighting
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Enamel, Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Cement, Metal
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s French Modern Lighting
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Lighting
Marble
2010s North American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
20th Century American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lighting
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Hardwood, Bentwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1970s North American Vintage Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Other
Modern lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
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