Jose Zanine Caldas, A Mid-Century Inspiration

The personality that we will talk today was known as a Master of Madeira and his work was important for the promotion and integration of traditional Brazilian crafts and modernism is a unique way. For that matter, come with us to know more about Jose and this mid-century inspiration.

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Jose Zanine Caldas was a Brazilian landscaper, sculptor, and architect that dedicate his all life to the furniture. Having lived during the ’30s and the ’70s is important to us present you his life.

With just 20 years Jose opens his own firm to the mock-ups construction. From Zanine’s firm come prototypes of projects signed by names like Lúcio Costa, Oswaldo Arthur Bratke and Oscar Niemeyer: three of the best architects of Brazil in the time.

Past 9 years, in 1948 comes up a partnership between Zanine, Sebastião Henrique da Cunha Pontes and Paulo Mello, created the “Zanine, Pontes e Cia. Ltda.”, the company was better known as “Artists Furniture Z”. The design of the furniture with strong modernist influence was signed by Zanine until leaving the society in the mid-’50s.

Even without a degree, in 1960, Jose was invited by Darcy Ribeiro to teach at the University of Brasília. During this period Jose had some problems related to the military coup in 1964.

Having reappeared at the end of the ’60s he settled in Rio de Janeiro where he built dozens of houses in the neighborhood of Joatinga. Here he used material that privileged the preservation of the environment and emphasized the concept of self-construction. For many years, Zanine was the center of a controversy that made it impossible to build without a professional diploma. However, by the domain of technique and materials, Zanine was eventually blamed by the honoris causa.

Zanine died of infarction, to the 82 years. He had already suffered from hydrocephalus and had several difficulties with communication and reasoning. Married six times, he left six children, among them the architect José Zanine Caldas Filho, the designer Zanini de Zanine Caldas, who in his drawings is inspired by his father’s designs, also gaining notoriety for furniture

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