Joaquin Tenreiro
20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Desks
Rosewood
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Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Macassar
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Dining Room Tables
Glass, Jacaranda
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Lounge Chairs
Hardwood, Fabric
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Wall Mirrors
Jacaranda, Mirror
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Rosewood
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Brass
On the Origins of Brazilian
More often than not, vintage mid-century Brazilian furniture designs, with their gleaming wood, soft leathers and inviting shapes, share a sensuous, unique quality that distinguishes them from the more rectilinear output of American and Scandinavian makers of the same era.
Commencing in the 1940s and '50s, a group of architects and designers transformed the local cultural landscape in Brazil, merging the modernist vernacular popular in Europe and the United States with the South American country's traditional techniques and indigenous materials.
Key mid-century influencers on Brazilian furniture design include natives Oscar Niemeyer, Sergio Rodrigues and José Zanine Caldas as well as such European immigrants as Joaquim Tenreiro, Jean Gillon and Jorge Zalszupin. These creators frequently collaborated; for instance, Niemeyer, an internationally acclaimed architect, commissioned many of them to furnish his residential and institutional buildings.
The popularity of Brazilian modern furniture has made household names of these designers and other greats. Their particular brand of modernism is characterized by an émigré point of view (some were Lithuanian, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and Italian), a preference for highly figured indigenous Brazilian woods, a reverence for nature as an inspiration and an atelier or small-production mentality.
Hallmarks of Brazilian mid-century design include smooth, sculptural forms and the use of native woods like rosewood, jacaranda and pequi. The work of designers today exhibits many of the same qualities, though with a marked interest in exploring new materials (witness the Campana Brothers' stuffed-animal chairs) and an emphasis on looking inward rather than to other countries for inspiration.
Find a collection of vintage Brazilian furniture on 1stDibs that includes chairs, sofas, tables and more.