Brazilian Sofas
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 Sofas
Leather, Cherry
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Leather, Wood, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Minimalist Brazilian Sofas
Steel
1950s Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Cotton, Velvet, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Leather, Wood
1950s Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Jacaranda
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Sofas
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Suede
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Wood
1950s Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Jacaranda
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Leather, Jacaranda
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Linen, Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Sofas
Steel
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Jacaranda
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Hardwood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Leather, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Wood, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Sofas
Suede, Rosewood
1960s Vintage Brazilian Sofas
Rosewood
Early 2000s Modern Brazilian Sofas
Wood
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