Oscar Niemeyer - MARQUESA Bench
About the Item
- Creator:Oscar Niemeyer (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.71 in (78 cm)Width: 100.4 in (255 cm)Depth: 21.66 in (55 cm)Seat Height: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Unknown
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. The piece shows signs of use due to the passage of time, with a few places where the matt lacquer paint has been touched up or where very small marks have been repainted in the past.
- Seller Location:Immenstaad am Bodensee, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU9489237563872
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer made modernist architecture sexy. In his signature designs, such as those for the planned capital city of Brasília, Niemeyer created a distinctively buoyant architectural vocabulary of sweeping curves, flowing lines and organic forms (attributes that also characterize his seductive furniture). As expressions of faith in the power of modern architecture and design to foster progress, Niemeyer’s buildings have a kind of heroic poetry.
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho was born to an upper-middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro. (His father was a graphic designer.) While in graduate school, Niemeyer began working for Lúcio Costa, one of the few modernist architects working in Brazil in the 1930s. Niemeyer would be assigned to the design team for a new building in Rio for the Ministry of Education and Health. The famed Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier was hired as a consultant on the project, and through him Niemeyer would absorb many lessons in bringing a sense of structural lightness to large buildings — though he would never embrace the geometric forms espoused by Le Corbusier and the members of the Bauhaus.
“I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man,” Niemeyer would write in his memoirs. “I am attracted to free-flowing sensual curves.”
Nowhere would Niemeyer demonstrate his love of curvature more expressively and elegantly than in his designs for the principal buildings for Brasília, a project begun in 1956. The dramatic Congressional Palace features two stark towers flanked by a domed structure and a bowl-shaped edifice, for the upper and lower legislative houses. He placed the Palácio da Alvorada (the presidential residence) on a small peninsula jutting into a lake, so that the sequence of parabolic columns on its facade casts a mirror image on the water. Niemeyer’s grandest achievement was the city’s cathedral, a stunning composition of 16 arched vertical supports with tinted-glass interstices.
Four years after Brasília was completed, in 1960, Brazil’s elected government was overthrown in a military coup. Niemeyer, a member of the Communist party, was harassed continually by the junta. He left the country and did not return until democracy was restored, in 1985.
While in exile, in the early 1970s, Niemeyer began collaborating on furniture designs with his daughter, Anna Maria Niemeyer. Their best known pieces are seating furniture — the Alta lounge chair and ottoman and the Rio rocking chaise, which have flowing bases made of sheets of lacquered wood or stainless steel, share the aesthetics of Niemeyer’s architecture.
The Alta’s deep, oversized seat pads nod — much like the chair designs of Niemeyer’s countryman Sergio Rodrigues — to the Brazilian penchant for long, languorous conversations. Examples of both designs are priced at about $20,000, depending on age, condition and materials. As you will see on these pages, Oscar Niemeyer’s furniture designs are sleek, sculptural, comfortable and elegant — as well as a compact emblem of the work of one of the great architects of our time.
Find vintage Oscar Niemeyer lounge chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Curitiba, Brazil
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Móveis Cimo, Brazil - set of 4 rare Dinner Chairs, 1960sBy Moveis CimoLocated in Immenstaad am Bodensee, DEThese 4 rare hardwood dining chairs were manufactured in the 1960s by the Brazilian company Móveis Cimo, a pioneer of Brazilian furniture manufacturing that existed from 1921 to 1982...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLinen, Hardwood
- Percival Lafer - MP-85 , 2 Adjustable Lounge Chairs, Brazil 1971By Percival LaferLocated in Immenstaad am Bodensee, DEAfter graduating in architecture from Mackenzie University in São Paulo, Percival Lafer took over his father's furniture company, The Co. Lafer, and his motto from day one was innova...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Upholstery, Hardwood
- Novo Rumo - very rare Lounge Chair with Ottoman, 1970sBy Novo RumoLocated in Immenstaad am Bodensee, DENovo Rumo, a name that translates to 'New Direction,' was an influential furniture company that emerged during the heyday of Brazilian Modernism. Established in 1955, Novo Rumo playe...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Robin Day - HILLE Chair by L´atelier, Brazil, 1970s - very rareBy Robin DayLocated in Immenstaad am Bodensee, DERobin Day was undoubtedly one of the most influential British furniture designers of the 20th century. He is of course best remembered for his polypropylene stacking chairs, since th...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Geraldo de Barros, pair of tubular metal armchairs, 1970sBy Geraldo de BarrosLocated in Immenstaad am Bodensee, DEGeraldo de Barros (1923–1998) was a pioneering Brazilian artist whose influence extended across various artistic disciplines, including painting, photography, and furniture design. B...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- L´Atelier , swivel Office Chairs, very rare, original label, Brazil, 1970sBy L'Atelier San PauloLocated in Immenstaad am Bodensee, DEList price is per chair, total of 6 chairs are available! L'Atelier, a renowned furniture design company, stands as a testament to the genius of its founder, Jorge Zalszupin. A Polish-born architect who made Brazil his home, Zalszupin made significant contributions to Brazilian Modernist furniture...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Aluminum
- Oscar Niemeyer "Marquesa" BenchBy Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Houston, TXOscar Niemeyer Marquesa Bench 1974 /2013 The precise curves of the Marquesa Bench carry the signature style of Oscar Niemeyer, who created this piece in collaboration with his daugh...Category
2010s Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWood
- Marquesa Beench by Oscar Niemeyer, Mid-Century Modern-Vintage 1978By Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Houston, TXCurrently available for acquisition, this exquisitely crafted Mid-Century Modern masterpiece, known as the "Marquesa," represents an embodiment of the remarkable design acumen of Osc...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsCane, Hardwood, Lacquer
- Oscar Niemeyer "Alta" Chair & OttomanBy Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Padova, ITOascar Niemeyer Alta chair & ottoman in black leather for Mobilier International, France. Low seat edition. Satin stainless steel structure, fixing knobs, a...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Oscar Niemeyer "Alta" stool stainless steelBy Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Houston, TXOscar Niemeyer Alta Steel Bench 1948 /re-edited 2013 Oscar Niemeyer (December 15, 1907 - December 5th, 2012) is a Brazilian architect considered one of the most important names in i...Category
2010s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Chaise Longue "Rio", by Oscar Niemeyer et Ana Maria Niemeyer (Attributed)By Anna Maria Niemeyer, Oscar NiemeyerLocated in PARIS, FROriginally designed in 1978 by Oscar Niemeyer and his daughter Anna Maria Niemeyer, the "Rio" rocking chair is exemplary of Niemeyer's exquisite curv...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Cane, Wood, Plywood
- Oscar Niemeyer White "Alta" Lounge ChairBy Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Edogawa-ku Tokyo, JPWhite "Alta" lounge chair designed by Oscar Niemeyer. White leather upholstery and steel. This individual was exhibited at “Oscar Niemeyer - Territories of Creation” at Instituto Tomie Ohtake...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel