Modern Lanterns
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Lanterns
Marble, Statuary Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lanterns
Aluminum, Silver Plate
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lanterns
Ceramic
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Lanterns
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lanterns
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lanterns
Blown Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Lanterns
Cut Glass
2010s Polish Modern Lanterns
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lanterns
Aluminum, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lanterns
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lanterns
Crystal, Gold, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lanterns
Crystal, Gold, Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Lanterns
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Lanterns
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Lanterns
Metal
20th Century Modern Lanterns
Iron
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Lanterns
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Lanterns
Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Lanterns
Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Lanterns
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Lanterns
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Lanterns
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Lanterns
Steel, Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Lanterns
Walnut
2010s Canadian Modern Lanterns
Oak
2010s American Modern Lanterns
Ceramic, Bone, Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Lanterns
Fiberglass
20th Century Modern Lanterns
Nickel
2010s Italian Modern Lanterns
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lanterns
Iron
2010s Modern Lanterns
Stainless Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lanterns
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Lanterns
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Lanterns
Metal
20th Century Modern Lanterns
Nickel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lanterns
Crystal, Brass
2010s French Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Polish Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Polish Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s French Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Polish Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Polish Modern Lanterns
Brass