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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Onyx, Rock Crystal, Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lighting
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Bronze, Brass, Enamel
1970s German Vintage Modern Lighting
Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Marble, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Metal, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lighting
Ceramic, Wool, Alpaca, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Lighting
Other, Stainless Steel
2010s Austrian Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Unknown Modern Lighting
Ash, Bentwood
2010s American Modern Lighting
Wood, Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Metal, Gold Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Crystal, Brass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Fabric, Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lighting
Glass
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Metal
2010s American Modern Lighting
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Lighting
Metal
20th Century Canadian Modern Lighting
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lighting
Aluminum, Steel
2010s American Modern Lighting
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Lighting
Ash
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Lighting
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Lighting
Ceramic, Clay
1970s American Vintage Modern Lighting
Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lighting
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Aluminum, Steel
1980s Irish Vintage Modern Lighting
Crystal, Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Lighting
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lighting
Ceramic, Clay
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lighting
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Other
2010s Oceanic Modern Lighting
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lighting
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lighting
Brass
Modern lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
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