Modern Lighting
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Natural Fiber
2010s American Modern Lighting
Steel, Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
1970s North American Vintage Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Canadian Modern Lighting
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lighting
Nickel, Chrome, Bronze, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Marble, Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Fabric, Natural Fiber
20th Century Italian Modern Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Marble, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s Swedish Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
2010s German Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lighting
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
1960s Austrian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Plastic, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Lighting
Ceramic, Leather, Textile, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lighting
Plastic
2010s American Modern Lighting
Wood, Paper
2010s American Modern Lighting
Bronze, Brass, Enamel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Metal, Gold Plate
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Steel
2010s Austrian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s North American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern Lighting
Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Nickel, Bronze, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Lighting
Alabaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Marble, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Onyx, Rock Crystal, Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Aluminum, Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lighting
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Metal, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
Modern lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
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