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.
Chaise Longue "Rio" by Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil, 1978
By Oscar Niemeyer, Tendo Brasileira
Located in Antwerp, BE
Rio chaise longue, a masterwork designed by Oscar Niemeyer and his daughter Anna Maria in 1978. Manufactured by Tendo Brasileira between 1979 and 1982, this exclusive piece was produ...
Wood, Plywood
Mid-Century Modern Rio Chaise by Oscar Niemeyer, 1978
By Anna Maria Niemeyer, Oscar Niemeyer
Located in New York, NY
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Anna Maria Niemeyer in 1978 and produced by Tepperman, the Rio chaise longue is constructed from lacquered molded plywood with a cane seating surface and a leather cylindrical neck cushion suspended by leather straps. The form follows a continuous sinuous curve, which functions simultaneously as structure and base. The cane panel is set within the black-lacquered plywood frame, and the leather cushion is secured at the headrest end by looped straps. Oscar Niemeyer, the Brazilian architect whose practice defined the formal vocabulary of Brazilian modernism, collaborated on furniture design with his daughter Anna Maria Niemeyer. His architectural output, most extensively realized in the construction of Brasília from the late 1950s onward, was characterized by curved concrete forms, a quality that translated directly into the Rio chaise.Anna Maria Niemeyer contributed substantially to the furniture designs attributed to their collaboration during this period. Literature Desenho da Utopia, Brazilian Modern Furniture...
Leather, Cane, Wood
$36,107
H 38.59 in W 64.18 in D 24.02 in
Oscar Niemeyer rocking chair longue model : « Rio » created in 1977
By Anna Maria Niemeyer, Oscar Niemeyer
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) Rio Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) Rio Rocking chaise longue Painted plywood, caning and leather Edited by Tendo Manufacturer's label Model created in 1977 H 9...
Leather, Cane, Plywood, Paint
Chaise Longue. Oscar Niemeyer & Ana Maria Niemeyer (d'après)
By Anna Maria Niemeyer, Oscar Niemeyer
Located in PARIS, FR
Oscar Niemeyer and Ana Maria Niemeyer (attributed) Chaise Longue, c. 1970 86 x 176 x 61 cm 33 43/50 x 69 7/25 x 24 1/50 in Attributed to celebrated Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeye...
Leather, Cane, Wood, Plywood
$3,757
H 29.93 in W 63 in D 24.41 in
Chaise Longue di Guido Faleschini per Mariani anni 70 un pelle nera e acciaio
By i4 Mariani, Guido Faleschini
Located in Ghedi, IT
La chaise lounge disegnata da Guido Faleschini negli anni Settanta rappresenta un’icona del design italiano, incarnando l’eleganza audace e la sperimentazione stilistica di quel peri...
Leather
Hans Hartl "Soloform 5008" Chaise Lounge
By Hans Hartl, Eugen Schmidt
Located in Hanover, MA
Rare Soloform model 5008 chaise lounge designed by Hans Hartl (1899-1980) for Eugen Schmidt, Darmstadt, Germany, 1953. Measures: 72 1/2" W x 35 3/4" D x 30 1/4" H Known as the Shell Couch (Schalencouch) channel tufted white leather upholstered hardwood frame with elastic straps and foam on tubular chrome base. Very rare and beautiful Avant Garde freeform chaise longue produced in very few numbers. This is one of the few post WWII designs produced by Hartl and exemplifies the link between art and design during this progressive period. Hartl was a high profile architect, decorator and furniture designer during the late 1920s-1930s period whose works were published alongside those of greats such as Josef Hoffmann, Le Corbusier, Mendelsson, Pier Luigi Nervi...
Chrome
$4,549Sale Price / item|10% Off
H 30.71 in W 27.17 in D 74.41 in
Baleri Italia Flipt Armchair/Chaise Longue in leather or fabric by Jeff Miller
By Jeff Miller, Baleri Italia
Located in Milano, Lombardia
The opportunity to recline in the open is a luxury established in biblical times, but in the contemporary urban environment that opportunity is limited not by social norms so much as...
Fabric, Leather
$25,000
H 31 in W 31 in D 45 in
1970s Alta Lounge Chair Attributed to Oscar Niemeyer for Mobilier Intl of France
By Mobilier International, Oscar Niemeyer
Located in Philadelphia, PA
We present this 'Alta' lounge chair, featuring a curved brushed stainless steel frame, and a generous seat pad that is upholstered in a black fabric. The chair was acquired from a Philadelphia-area estate, accompanied by other noteworthy pieces by Mies Van Der Rohe, Florence Knoll, and Finn Juhl. The chair was designed in 1971 by Oscar Niemeyer, in collaboration with Anna Maria Niemeyer. This particular example is attributed to Mobilier International as far as production, though the piece is unmarked. This special piece was launched in France, and was Niemeyer’s first foray into the field of industrialized and commercialized furniture. This is a listing for one lounge chair. The chair measures 45 inches in depth, 31 inches in width and 31 inches tall. The seat height is 18 inches. The black upholstery is in wonderful condition and the thick foam seat pad is intact and is in great shape. The chair shoes some light wear from use. Oscar Niemeyer was a critical figure in the Brazilian Modernist architectural movement, and the capital city of Brasilia owes much of its curvaceous futuristic facade to his vision. The acquisition of this important chair...
Steel
Oscar Niemeyer ‘Alta’ Lounge Chair & Ottoman
By Oscar Niemeyer
Located in Zagreb, HR
Designed by the legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in collaboration with his daughter Anna Maria in 1971, the Alta's iconic silhouette requires no introduction for any desi...
Metal
$5,946 / item
H 30.71 in W 27.17 in D 74.41 in
Armchair / Chaise-Longue in leather Baleri Italia Flipt design Jeff Miller
By Jeff Miller, Baleri Italia
Located in Varedo, Lombardia
Brand: Baleri Italy Model: Flipt Armchair / Chaise-Longue Design: Jeff Miller Flipt is a versatile armchair that transforms into a chaise-longue, combining compact urban elegance wi...
Steel
Wireflow Chaise Lounge by Michel Rojkind for Driade, Ergonomic Leather
By Michel Rojkind, Driade
Located in Asti, Piemonte
We designed the Wireflow chaise longue by creating a soft and flexible shell, evoking simple, fluid lines with a focus on ergonomics and comfort. The metal frame’s design intentional...
Leather
Sofa Sofo Model by Superstudio for Poltronova, Italy
By Poltronova, Superstudio
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Sofa in polyurethane with base in molded plastic and upholstery in cotton and viscose. The Sofo is a seat to be placed in a row, like a train, or to be stacked to build solid colored mountains. It is just a block, obtained by means of an “S” cut, from a polyurethane cube, covered with a fabric crossed by two large lines. It is the result of a very simple operation, without waste, neither material nor thought. It is presented as a compact, abstract and colorful object...
Cotton, Plastic
Armchair with Ottoman Mies Model by Archizoom Associati for Poltronova, Italy
By Archizoom Associati
Located in Asti, Piemonte
The structure is in chromed metal, the seat in latex sheet that deforms in response to the weight of the body. Ottoman size: W 105 cm x D 20 cm x H 34 cm. Bulbs: 3 x LED E14 3W [ma...
Metal
Khaima Metal Sofa by Patrick Norguet for Driade, Contemporary Design
By Patrick Norguet, Driade
Located in Asti, Piemonte
A true open-air room—a soft, inviting contemporary retreat—Khaima evokes the form of a seashell thanks to its refined canopy design, created by the intersection of fabric triangles. ...
Metal
Armchair and Footstool UP5_6 by Gaetano Pesce for Superego Editions, Italy
By Gaetano Pesce, Superego Editions
Located in Asti, Piemonte
A large patinated bronze armchair casted with lost wax method with spherical footstool also known by the name 'Donna', foam model designed in 1969 by C & B, from 2012 limited edition...
Bronze
Group of Six We Chairs by Fabio Novembre for Driade, Solid Ash
By Fabio Novembre, Driade
Located in Asti, Piemonte
A wooden chair with Nemo profiles that tells a love story between two faces intent on looking at each other without ever being able to reach each other. Chair made entirely of solid ...
Ash
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.
Alessandro Mendini, Michael Graves, Ettore Sottsass and other design luminaries contributed to this unusual collection of porcelain wares representing a time capsule of late-20th-century decorative art.
