Brazilian Benches
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.
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Bouclé, Wood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Aluminum
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Foam, Wood, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Metal
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Stainless Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Metal
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Brass
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Bronze
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Metal, Brass
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
Early 2000s Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Modern Brazilian Benches
Oak, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Cement, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Aluminum
1860s High Victorian Antique Brazilian Benches
Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
1970s Hollywood Regency Vintage Brazilian Benches
Brass
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Benches
Steel
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Benches
Wood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Foam, Wood, Plywood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Foam, Wood, Plywood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Foam, Wood, Plywood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Metal, Brass
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Foam, Wood, Plywood
2010s Modern Brazilian Benches
Metal, Brass
Early 2000s Modern Brazilian Benches
Iron
20th Century Modern Brazilian Benches
Leather, Wood