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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
IN STOCK special edition leaf shaped Fallen Leaves mirror by InsidherLand
By InsidherLand, Joana Santos Barbosa
Located in Maia, Porto
This special edition is a huge hand carved piece that shows the ability of creating bespoke pieces by the InsidherLand team of Portuguese artisans. The natural aging revealed by the ...
Gold Leaf
Gilded Faux Bamboo Chinoiserie Trumeau Mirror by Maison Jansen, 1960
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Classic chinoiserie trumeau mirror with lovely oriental painted scenery. Gilded wood faux bamboo frame.
Giltwood
Petit Louis XVI Period Giltwood Trumeau Mirror
Located in Pembroke, MA
A petit French Louis XVI period giltwood mirror with a pair of doves and wreath cartouche, laurel leaves and other neoclassical detailing, and nice old mercury glass ("trumeau de mar...
Giltwood, Wood
19th Century Trumeau Mirror
Located in Houston, TX
19th century fragments made into a trumeau mirror with antique mercury mirror. This mirror has been manufactured recently to look old. From bot...
Wood
Early 19th C French Gold Trumeau Mirror
Located in Hastings, GB
Early 19th c French gilt Trumeau mirror Fantastic example of a French Trumeau mirror with elegant proportions. The carved wooden frame is overlaid with gesso and gilt, finished in g...
Wood
French Provincial Giltwood Trumeau Mirror
Located in Chicago, IL
Above the framed mirror plate, the panel is decorated with a floral motif and carved musical instruments.
Gold, Gold Leaf
Antique French Louis XVI Style Giltwood Mirror
Located in Houston, TX
Antique French Louis XVI style giltwood mirror. Charming French Louis XVI style painted and giltwood mirror. This lovely traditional F...
Giltwood
$4,750
H 83 in W 1.5 in D 43.5 in
Mid 19th Century Louis XVI Style Trumeau Mirror in Painted and Gilded Wood
Located in Round Top, TX
French antique Louis XVI style trumeau mirror in painted and gilded wood from the mid 19th century. This beautiful mirror features a painted scene of a pair of young lovers in a past...
Wood
Bernhard Rohne Mirror for Mastercraft
By Mastercraft
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Bernhard Rohne acid etched mirror for Mastercraft furniture co. Offered at Gallery Girasole
Brass
$1,235
H 20.5 in W 32 in D 0.9 in
Rare Midcentury Design Oval Mirror in Faux Glass Frame with Frosted Ice Pattern
Located in Lisse, NL
Mirror, mirror on the wall. This beautifully made, frosted ice mirror frame is made of resin and it is very realistic. It is of a good and practical size a...
Epoxy Resin, Mirror
Impressive Louis XVI Period Trumeau Mirror
Located in Pembroke, MA
A large and impressive French, 18th century Louis XVI period carved and giltwood trumeau mirror with antique mercury glass panels. A period oil on canvas painting of an expansive landscape with hunters is enclosed in a carved giltwood arched framework, surmounted by a stylized shell cartouche and supported by carved giltwood laurel...
Mercury Glass, Paint, Gesso, Wood, Giltwood
Painted French Trumeau Mirror
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Painted Rococo trumeau mirror, having a painted finish showing desirable natural wear, its raised and fielded frame, surrounding foliate scrolls and a shaped mirrorplate. Stock I...
Mirror, Wood
French Directoire Period Giltwood Trumeau Mirror
Located in Pembroke, MA
A petit French Directoire period giltwood trumeau mirror with sheath of wheat cartouche and other neoclassical detailing (Circa 1790). Nice old mercury glass. A similarly-sized Fre...
Giltwood, Mercury Glass, Mirror
Irys Wall Mirror with Jade Green Mirror Inside and Actual Mirror Outside
Located in Pietrasanta, IT
This wall mirror is entirely handmade in Tuscany Italy in the atelier of Sabrina Landini. The glass is original of 1970, the slabs are available in color Jade and aquamarine. After ...
Art Glass, Mirror, Bentwood