Modern Mirrors
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s French Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Glass
2010s Turkish Modern Mirrors
Metal, Brass
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Plastic, Fiberglass
2010s English Modern Mirrors
Mirror
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Bamboo, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Mirrors
Metal, Steel, Stainless Steel
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Mirrors
Beech
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Walnut
1960s French Vintage Modern Mirrors
Ceramic
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Aluminum
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Plastic
2010s Canadian Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Maple, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Mirrors
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Mirrors
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Mirrors
Natural Fiber
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Marble, Brass, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Aluminum
2010s Ukrainian Modern Mirrors
Onyx, Travertine, Marble, Statuary Marble, Brass, Copper, Steel, Stainle...
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Brass, Stainless Steel, Metal, Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Mirrors
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Glass, Velvet
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Mirror
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Plaster
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass
2010s English Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Oak
1970s North American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Shell, Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Mirrors
Foil
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Mirrors
Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Glass
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Mirrors
Glass, Teak
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Art Glass, Mirror
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Art Glass, Mirror
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Mirrors
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Mirrors
Onyx
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Mirrors
Other
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Mirrors
Wrought Iron
2010s Brazilian Modern Mirrors
Wood, Teak, Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Mirrors
Hardwood
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Bronze
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal
2010s French Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Glass