Rare "Rio" Chaise Longue in Imbuia Wood with Woven Cane Seat, Leather Headrest
View Similar Items
Rare "Rio" Chaise Longue in Imbuia Wood with Woven Cane Seat, Leather Headrest
About the Item
- Creator:Oscar Niemeyer (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 67 in (170.18 cm)Depth: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1978
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: LC6811stDibs: LU87713986643
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.
- Two-Seat Sofa by Oscar NiemeyerBy Oscar NiemeyerLocated in New York, NYTwo-seat sofa in rosewood veneer with upholstered cushions. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer for the SESC hotel, Brazil, 1990.Category
Late 20th Century Brazilian Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
Price Upon Request - Three-seat sofa by Oscar NiemeyerBy Oscar NiemeyerLocated in New York, NYThree-seat sofa in rosewood veneer with upholstered cushions. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer for the SESC hotel, Brazil, 1990.Category
1990s Brazilian Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Rosewood
Price Upon Request - Lounge Chair in Caviona Wood and Tan Leather by José Zanine Caldas, 1960sBy José Zanine CaldasLocated in New York, NYLounge chair in caviona wood with tan leather upholstered seat and backrest. Designed by José Zanine Caldas, Brazil, circa 1960.Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Two-Seat Sofa with Rosewood Frame Designed by Joaquim TenreiroBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYTwo-seat sofa with rosewood frame and upholstered cushions. Designed by Joaquim Tenreiro, Brazil, circa 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Sofas
MaterialsRosewood
Price Upon Request - Daybed with Wood Frame by Joaquim TenreiroBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYDaybed with wood frame, painted metal legs, and upholstered cushions. Designed by Joaquim Tenreiro for a private commission in Copacabana, Brazil, circa 1950. Reupholstered by Jouffr...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Daybeds
MaterialsMetal
Price Upon Request - Therapeutic Toy Cube in Jute with Leather by Renate Müller, 1968-1974By Renate Müller, H. Josef LevenLocated in New York, NYTherapeutic Toy cube in jute with leather detailing. Designed and made by Renate Müller for H. Josef Leven, Sonneberg, Germany, produced between 1968 and 1974.Category
Vintage 1960s German Modern Toys and Dolls
MaterialsLeather, Jute
Price Upon Request
- Antique Victorian Chaise Longue in Woven Leopard JacquardLocated in Hastings, GBAn elegant and exceptional Victorian chaise longue, early 19th century. Newly upholstered in a stunning hand picked woven Leopard Jacquard f...Category
Antique 19th Century British Victorian Chaise Longues
MaterialsWood
- Modern Chaise Longue Chair in Brown LeatherLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stylish modern chaise longue chair features tufted brown leather with a distressed patina situated on a chrome base. Comfortable lounge design makes this an excellent seating op...Category
20th Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsLeather
$2,310 Sale Price30% Off - Oscar Niemeyer Chaise Lounge Model Rio Prod. Fasem, ItalyBy Fasem International, Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Milan, ItalyA sculptural rocking Rio chaise lounge, designed in 1978, contemporary edition. Base composed of three elements including supple ribbons of molded da...Category
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Vintage Brown Leather Chaise LongueBy Enrico PellizzoniLocated in Milan, ITShowcasing a fluid silhouette crafted of bronzed cylindrical steel, padded in expanded polyurethane, and upholstered in vintage brown leather, this elegant chaise longue makes for th...Category
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsLeather
$5,405 / item - Chaise LongueLocated in Los Angeles, CA1950s chaise longue, mix of leather, sky and pony hair upholstery.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsWood
$1,800 - DE SADE Gold Leaf Chaise Longue in Solid Wood with Brown Baroque Printed LeatherBy Fratelli BoffiLocated in Lentate sul Seveso, Monza e BrianzaThe De Sade Chaise Longue is a captivating creation by Anonyme Studio, meticulously handcrafted in Italy to redefine opulence with a modern twist. Inspired by the Louis XVI style, th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Baroque Chaise Longues
MaterialsLeather, Wood
$11,117 Sale Price / item20% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The One-of-a-Kind Design Coming Out of Brazil Is Game Changing
Move over classic mid-century mod. Contemporary designers and dealers from São Paulo and beyond are redefining Brazilian furniture while honoring the legacy of local legends.
The Weird Science of Rogan Gregory’s Hypnotic Designs
Using stone, wood and bronze, the wildly inventive sculptor creates an entirely new species of functional art object.