Modern Mirrors
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century American Modern Mirrors
Leather
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Marble, Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Oak
2010s Dutch Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Mirrors
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Marble, Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Chrome, Nickel
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Oak
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Lacquer, Natural Fiber, Mirror
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Ceramic, Mirror, Hardwood, Oak
1980s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Mirrors
Ceramic, Fiberglass, Acrylic, Mirror
1970s French Vintage Modern Mirrors
Ceramic
2010s Modern Mirrors
Glass, Resin
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Fiberglass
1990s American Modern Mirrors
Silver Leaf
2010s Modern Mirrors
Onyx
1950s American Vintage Modern Mirrors
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Stone
2010s Turkish Modern Mirrors
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Mirrors
Silk, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mirrors
Copper
2010s Dutch Modern Mirrors
Foil
2010s European Modern Mirrors
Glass, Mirror
2010s European Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Plastic, Plexiglass
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Mirrors
Brass, Metal
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Mirrors
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Mirrors
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Mirrors
Wood, Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
2010s Indian Modern Mirrors
Mirror
2010s British Modern Mirrors
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Mirrors
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Mirrors
Paint, Wood, Mirror
2010s Chinese Modern Mirrors
Fiberglass
2010s German Modern Mirrors
Clay