Brazilian Seating
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.
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Organic Modern Brazilian Seating
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Iron
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Leather, Hardwood
1940s Vintage Brazilian Seating
Fabric, Jacaranda
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Hardwood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Hardwood, Ultrasuede
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Velvet
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Rosewood, Cane
Late 19th Century Neoclassical Revival Antique Brazilian Seating
Wood
1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Plywood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Fabric, Wood, Hardwood
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Textile, Jacaranda
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Cord, Teak
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Iron
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Seating
Wood
18th Century Rococo Antique Brazilian Seating
Hardwood, Harewood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Rosewood, Fabric
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
20th Century Brazilian Seating
Cowhide, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Seating
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Steel
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Fiberglass, Velvet
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Leather, Hardwood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Faux Leather, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Faux Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Seating
Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Hardwood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Jacaranda
21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Wood, Mahogany
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Fabric, Hardwood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Velvet, Imbuia
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Leather
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
Early 2000s Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Hardwood, Cane
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Iron
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Steel
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Seating
Upholstery
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Cane, Wood
1960s Vintage Brazilian Seating
Iron
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Hardwood, Linen
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Seating
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Seating
Sheepskin, Wool
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Seating
Iron
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