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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century French Modern Mirrors
Bamboo, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood, Lacquer
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Mirrors
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood, Lacquer
20th Century American Modern Mirrors
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Onyx, Stainless Steel, Gold Leaf
2010s Chinese Modern Mirrors
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century American Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Glass
1950s French Vintage Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Murano Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Plastic
2010s Turkish Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
2010s French Modern Mirrors
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Marble, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Onyx, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Marble, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass, Metal
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Glass, Foam, Plywood, Paper
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Mirror
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal
1660s French Antique Modern Mirrors
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Marble, Metal
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Metal, Stainless Steel
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Copper
20th Century French Modern Mirrors
Iron
2010s Mexican Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Fiberglass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass, Metal
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Wood, Lacquer
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass, Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern Mirrors
Glass, Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Mirror
1940s Vintage Modern Mirrors
Resin
20th Century Italian Modern Mirrors
Mahogany
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Walnut
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Oak, Leather
Early 2000s European Modern Mirrors
Mirror
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Marble, Nickel
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Ash
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Ash
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Marble, Brass