Joaquim Tenreiro

JOAQUIM TENREIRO (Melo, Gouveia, 1906 – Itapira, 1992).
Rocking chair, c. 1947.
Rosewood.
Measurements: 96 x 68 x 94 cm.
Conceived during the pivotal years when Joaquim Tenreiro was shaping a new language of Brazilian furniture, this rocking chair with a curved backrest and openwork frame is an iconic expression of his celebrated body of work. The piece embodies the perfect synthesis of visual lightness and artisanal precision, reflecting Tenreiro’s duality as a master cabinetmaker and sculptor. His approach transcends conventional industrial design, treating each piece of furniture as a work of art where technical precision gives way to an ethereal and genuinely Brazilian aesthetic. Furthermore, the materials used highlight Tenreiro’s interest in local techniques and resources, which reflected a unique culture. A similar piece, but in the rocking chaise longue version, made of rosewood and cane around 1947, is part of the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (W.6-2014).
Joaquim Tenreiro, of Portuguese origin, was one of the leading furniture designers and visual artists of the mid-20th century in Brazil. He was born into a family of cabinetmakers who, in the late 1910s, emigrated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They returned to Portugal in 1914, and he worked with his father as a carpenter. Tenreiro returned permanently to Brazil in 1928 and began working for the firm Laubisch Hirth, among others.His early works, including the lightweight chairs (Poltrona Leve) he designed in 1942 for Francisco Inácio Peixoto’s residence, achieved considerable success, which enabled him to found his own firm, Langenbach & Tenreiro, in 1943. One of his main clients was the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Tenreiro left the furniture business in the late 1960s to focus his artistic practice on painting and sculpture. In 1970, he was named Sculptor of the Year by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.
Today, his work is part of major international collections. Among them are the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which holds his “Rocking Chaise Longue” from ca. 1947; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which houses his famous “Three-Legged Chair”; the Museu da Casa Brasileira in São Paulo, which houses several pieces, including a Poltrona de Embalo and a Cadeira Curva; and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, which also features furniture by Tenreiro.