Modern Decorative Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Decorative Art
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Stainless Steel
1980s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Carrara Marble, Granite, Onyx, Gold Leaf, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
2010s European Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
2010s Unknown Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Decorative Art
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Bronze
1980s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
Early 20th Century British Modern Decorative Art
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Stainless Steel
1880s French Antique Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Majolica
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Marble, Brass
1880s French Antique Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Majolica
Early 20th Century European Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
Mid-20th Century European Modern Decorative Art
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Brass, Bronze
Early 2000s Greek Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper, Acrylic
Early 2000s Greek Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paper
Early 2000s Greek Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper, Acrylic
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain