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.
Original Vintage South America Travel Poster Carnival Rio Brazil Horse Tanaka
By Tanaka
Located in London, GB
Original vintage South America travel poster for the Carnaval no Rio Brasil / Carnival in Rio Brazil featuring artwork by Beatrice Tanaka (1932-2016) depicting a colourful image of a...
Paper
Original Vintage South America Travel Poster Rio Brazil Pipe Sunglasses Fagundes
Located in London, GB
Original vintage South America travel poster for Rio Brasil / Brazil featuring a fun design depicting a smiling man smoking a pipe and wearing a brown and black checkered flat cap an...
Paper
Original Vintage Travel Poster Brazil Rio Guanabara Bay Sugarloaf Mountain Art
Located in London, GB
Original vintage travel poster for Brazil in South America featuring a scenic view from the Christ the Redeemer statue on Mount Corcovado towards Sugarloaf Mountain in Guanabara Bay ...
Paper
Original Vintage Advertising Poster Rio De Janeiro International Sample Fair
Located in London, GB
Original vintage advertising poster for the Xa Feira Internacional de Amostras / 10th International Exhibition of Samples held in Rio de Janeiro Brazil from 12 October to 15 November...
Paper
Original Vintage Poster Brazil Rio Varig Super G Constellation Luxury Air Travel
Located in London, GB
Original vintage travel poster advertising Brazil Overnight Flights to Rio in Super G Constellation Luxury by Varig Airlines featuring a fun design depicting a bird wearing a red and...
Paper
$8,500
H 40.9 in W 31 in D 0.1 in
LA CHAINE DU MONT-BLANC - CHAMONIX Original Vintage Art Deco Travel Poster
By Roger Broders
Located in Chicago, IL
LA CHAINE DU MONT-BLANC - L'AGUILLE DU DRU - CHAMONIX - PLM Authentic and rare original vintage antique lithographic travel poster Artist: Roger Broders Condition: B+/B Dimensions: 3...
Paper
$2,009
H 40.16 in W 24.81 in D 0.04 in
Original Vintage Swiss Travel Poster, Interlaken, Mountains and Ski, 1950
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Original Vintage Poster-Suisse-Interlaken-Montagne-Ski, c.1950 Poster to promote tourism in the city of Interlaken during the summer period (April to October). Additional detai...
Paper
1956 Air France, Europe Original Vintage Poster
By Hervé Morvan
Located in Winchester, GB
With fabulous artwork from French painter Herve Morvan, this poster promoting Air France routes to Europe was created in 1956. Air France was created in 1933 after a merger of multip...
Linen, Paper
LEVI'S Original Vintage Advertising Poster 1971
Located in Chicago, IL
LEVI'S Authentic original vintage advertising poster Artist: Ida Van Bladel Condition: A/A- * Dimensions: 22 x 32.9 in. / 55.9 x 83.5 cm. Circa: 1971 Linen Backed There are a few ti...
Paper
$1,700
H 38.3 in W 27.5 in D 0.1 in
HAWAII - QANTAS Original Vintage Airline Travel Tourism Australia Poster MCM
By Harry Rogers
Located in Chicago, IL
HAWAII - FLY THERE BY QANTAS Authentic original vintage midcentury airline travel poster Artist: Harry Rogers Condition: A- Dimensions: 27.5 x 38.3 in. / 69.9 x 97.3 cm. Circa: 1958 ...
Paper
'Easy Rider' Original Vintage Movie Poster, American, 1969
Located in Devon, GB
A touchstone of the American counterculture movement, Dennis Hopper's 1969 revolutionary road drama 'Easy Rider' defined a generation of disillusioned youth, marking a turning point ...
Linen, Paper
$2,000
H 39.2 in W 24.6 in D 0.1 in
AIR FRANCE - PARIS Original Vintage Airline Travel Poster Notre Dame Seine River
Located in Chicago, IL
PARIS - AIR FRANCE Authentic original vintage airline travel poster Artist: Francois Vernier Condition: B+ Dimensions: 24.6 x 39.2 in. / 62.5 x 99.5 cm. Circa: 1963 Linen Backed The...
Paper
$3,300
H 39.4 in W 25.2 in D 0.1 in
FIRENZE Original Vintage Italian Travel Tourism Italy Florence Art Deco Poster
Located in Chicago, IL
FIRENZE Rare authentic original vintage Italian travel poster Artist: Anonymous Condition: B+ Dimensions: 25.2 x 39.4 in. / 64 x 100 cm. Circa: 1938 Linen Backed Extensive overpain...
Paper
$1,350
H 19.5 in W 14.6 in D 0.1 in
SOUTH AFRICA QANTAS Original Vintage Airline Travel Tourism Poster MCM 15" x 20"
By Harry Rogers
Located in Chicago, IL
SOUTH AFRICA - QANTAS Authentic original vintage midcentury airline travel poster Artist: Harry Rogers Condition: A Dimensions: 14.6 x 19.6 in. / 37.2 x 49.7 cm. Circa: 1960s Linen B...
Paper
Original Vintage TWA Italy 1950s Travel Airline Poster, David Klein
By David Klein
Located in Bath, Somerset
Original vintage TWA Italy 1950s travel advertising poster featuring a wodnerful design by American artist David Klein. We adore the softly illustrated vie...
Linen, Paper
$1,700
H 42.3 in W 30.7 in D 0.1 in
DAUPHINE - PARIS-LYON-MEDITERRANE Antique Original Vintage Rail Travel Poster
By Roger Soubie
Located in Chicago, IL
DAUPHINE - CHEMINS DE FER PARIS-LYON-MEDITERRANEE Rare authentic original vintage antique French railroad and travel and tourism poster Artist: Roger Soubie Condition: A- Dimensions: 30.7 x 42.3 in. / 78 x 107.5 cm. Circa: 1925 Linen Backed There are two restored punch holes in the right margin; some minor surface scratches/abrasions; some margin creasing; this wonderful French travel poster should display beautifully once framed. A sweeping Alpine landscape from the Chartreuse massif featuring the Pic de Chamechaude rising in warm orange and pink above dark forested slopes, a small village and country houses nestled in the valley below, and a winding road disappearing into the trees. The color palette is unusual and striking: that pink-to-orange mountain against a pale sky gives it a warmth that sets it apart from the more typical cool-toned Alpine poster...
Paper
$4,700
H 39.4 in W 24.4 in D 0.1 in
PARIS Original Vintage Antique French Art Deco Travel Tourism Poster CASSANDRE
By Adolphe Mouron Cassandre
Located in Chicago, IL
PARIS - CHEMINS DE FER FRANCAIS Rare authentic original vintage French art deco travel and tourism poster Artist: Adolph Mouron Cassandre Condition: B+ Dimensions: 24.4 x 39.4 in. / ...
Paper
Sold
H 20.87 in W 14.77 in D 0.04 in
Original Vintage South America Travel Poster Carnival In Rio Brazil Mask
Located in London, GB
Original vintage South America travel poster for the Carnival in Rio Brazil February featuring a colourful design depicting a view through the eye holes of an orange carnival mask of...
Paper
Sold
H 25.99 in W 16.15 in D 0.04 in
Original Vintage Poster Brasil Varig Travel Culture Brazil Rio Gaucho Waterfall
Located in London, GB
Original vintage airline travel poster for Brasil Varig featuring a colorful design with images representing different places of interest and cultures in Brazil including a vaquero / Mexican cowboy...
Paper
Sold
H 39.77 in W 27.17 in D 0.04 in
Original Vintage Travel Advertising Poster For Rio De Janeiro By Varig Airlines
By Nelson Jungbluth
Located in London, GB
Original vintage travel poster advertising Rio de Janeiro by Varig airlines. Colourful image on an orange background featuring the Christ the Redeemer statue in front of Sugarloaf Mo...
Paper
Sold
H 27.17 in D 21.66 in
Original vintage travel poster for Brazil, Rio de Janeiro - Christ the Redeemer
Located in London, GB
Original vintage travel poster issued by the Brazilian Government Trade Bureau in New York. Great image of the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooki...
Lithograph, Paper
The streets of fin-de-siècle Paris were set aglow with colorful poster ads, thanks to the printing techniques invented by Jules Chéret. Now, the Milwaukee Art Museum is celebrating this undersung talent in America's first solo show dedicated his exuberant works.
A show at the Museum of Arts and Design explores how designers involved in the punk scene helped create a new visual language.