The great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who employed José Zanine Caldas as a model maker, said: “I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible…I am attracted to free-flowing, sensual curves. The curves that I find in the mountains of my country…” Zanine might have said the same, and this sentiment can be seen in the present dining table. His early furniture, which he produced for the firm Móveis Artísticos Z, tended to be strict and angular. His later work was more forgiving and ample, as seen in the present dining table.
Bruno Musatti, José Zanine Caldas, and his assistant searching through Elecunha SA waste field, Nova Viçosa, Bahia, 1977. Courtesy: Brunos Musatti archive.
The present dining table is perhaps the most important work by Caldas to come to auction, due to its scale, proportions, and impressive provenance. The table was previously owned by Brazilian art dealer Bruno Musatti and his wife, artist Jeanete Musatti. The couple visited Caldas’ workshop in Nova Vicosa, Bahia in 1977 where they picked the perfect fallen tree to be made into the present table. During this visit, the couple stayed as guests at the “House of Rio Peruípe,” Caldas’ home which he designed in 1970. The couple kept this impressive table in their home for forty-three years, before it was acquired by the present owner.
Provenance
Jeanete and Bruno Musatti, São Paulo Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2020
Literature
Amanda Beatriz Palma de Carvalho, et al., José Zanine Caldas, São Paulo, 2019, p. 146 for a similar example