Brazilian Armchairs
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 Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Brass
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Hardwood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Metal
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood, Fabric
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood, Fabric
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Hardwood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood, Silk, Cane
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Bouclé, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Wool, Leather, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Nylon, Imbuia
1660s Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood, Silk
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Imbuia
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Suede, Velvet, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Jacaranda, Palisander
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Bouclé, Hardwood, Plywood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
1990s Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood, Leather
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Metal
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood, Ebony
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Metal
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Rosewood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Aluminum
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Faux Leather, Hardwood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Linen, Hardwood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Cedar
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Rosewood, Faux Leather
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Hardwood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Steel
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Plywood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Leather, Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Linen, Rosewood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Velvet, Imbuia
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Armchairs
Chrome
1940s American Craftsman Vintage Brazilian Armchairs
Brass