Modern Figurative Sculptures
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bakelite
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Granite, Marble
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic, Rubber
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1930s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Silver Plate, Spelter
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
Late 20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Epoxy Resin, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin, Plaster
Late 20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Plate
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
1970s Serbian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Plate
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rubber
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Marble
1870s Italian Antique Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum, Brass
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic
Early 2000s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Polish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Alabaster
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Japanese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Foam, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Precious Stone
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal, Other, Wire





