Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 French Modern Furniture
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Wood
2010s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Foil
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
2010s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Concrete
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Glass
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Glass
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Glass
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Travertine
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Glass
1990s French Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Steel
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Furniture
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s French Modern Furniture
Enamel
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Bronze
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Stone, Quartz, Metal, Silver Plate
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Leather, Mirror
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton, Silk
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Furniture
Rock Crystal, Belgian Black Marble
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Plexiglass
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool
1990s French Modern Furniture
Metal, Silver Plate
2010s French Modern Furniture
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Iron
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Other, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Resin, Plaster
1940s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Crystal
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Resin, Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Resin, Plaster
2010s French Modern Furniture
Leather
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s French Modern Furniture
Rope, Plaster
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal
1990s French Modern Furniture
Crystal
Early 2000s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Earthenware, Porcelain
2010s French Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Bronze
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Oak
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s French Modern Furniture
Metal





