Carlo Bugatti - Master artist and cabinet maker
Ettore Bugatti’s father Carlo Bugatti was born in Milan on 16 February 1856, son of the architect and sculptor Giovanni Luigi Bugatti.
Young Carlo trained at the Brera Academy in Milan and the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1880 he began his professional career as an architect in Milan and married Teresa Lorioli. Their eldest son Ettore was born 1881, followed by daughter Deanice in 1883 and another son, Rembrandt, a year later. The Bugatti’s circle of friends consisted of numerous sculptors and artists, including the composer Giacomo Puccini and the painter Giovanni Segantini, who had married Carlo Bugatti’s sister in 1880.
Carlo Bugatti worked with ceramics, musical instruments, silverware, and textiles, but he is best known for his furniture designs. The first show of Bugatti furniture was at the 1888 Fine Arts Fair in Milan. Influenced by “New Art”, Bugatti used inlays of exotic wood, copper and parchment in his designs as well as mother of pearl. In the summer of 1888 his work was displayed at the Italian Exhibition in London – his first international show. In London, Bugatti’s furniture was awarded an honorary prize and his characteristic furniture style began to find avid devotees around the world – in New York, the Waldorf Astoria’s Turkish Salon was furnished with Bugatti pieces. Further shows followed in Amsterdam and Antwerp, and international newspaper reports and reviews contributed to his growing fame. In 1900 his furniture was awarded the silver medal at the Paris World Fair.
Young Carlo trained at the Brera Academy in Milan and the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1880 he began his professional career as an architect in Milan and married Teresa Lorioli. Their eldest son Ettore was born 1881, followed by daughter Deanice in 1883 and another son, Rembrandt, a year later. The Bugatti’s circle of friends consisted of numerous sculptors and artists, including the composer Giacomo Puccini and the painter Giovanni Segantini, who had married Carlo Bugatti’s sister in 1880.
Carlo Bugatti worked with ceramics, musical instruments, silverware, and textiles, but he is best known for his furniture designs. The first show of Bugatti furniture was at the 1888 Fine Arts Fair in Milan. Influenced by “New Art”, Bugatti used inlays of exotic wood, copper and parchment in his designs as well as mother of pearl. In the summer of 1888 his work was displayed at the Italian Exhibition in London – his first international show. In London, Bugatti’s furniture was awarded an honorary prize and his characteristic furniture style began to find avid devotees around the world – in New York, the Waldorf Astoria’s Turkish Salon was furnished with Bugatti pieces. Further shows followed in Amsterdam and Antwerp, and international newspaper reports and reviews contributed to his growing fame. In 1900 his furniture was awarded the silver medal at the Paris World Fair.
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Shown here: Selections from the museum’s Carlo Bugatti collection |
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