Carlo Bugatti (2 February 1856 – April 1940) was an Italian decorator, designer and manufacturer of Art Nouveau furniture, models of jewelry, and musical instruments.

Biography

Son of Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, a specialist in interior decoration, Carlo Bugatti was born 2 February 1856 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, in what was until

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final ...

the kingdom of Lombardy. Bugatti studied firstly at the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...

, and subsequently, from 1875, at the

Académie des Beaux Arts An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

in Paris. In 1880 he started to manufacture furniture in

, later transferring to France. From 1888 he began to be successful beyond Italy. Nevertheless, until 1904 he maintained a Milan workshop in the city's ''Via Castelfiardo 6''.Kurz: ''Bugatti. Der Mythos - Die Familie - Das Unternehmen'', S. 312. Bugatti triumphed at the exhibition of decorative art in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in 1902 and returned to Paris in 1904. He was also, like his father, trained as an architect, but there is no evidence that any of his architectural designs were ever executed. Father of sculptor

Rembrandt Bugatti Rembrandt Bugatti (16 October 1884 – 8 January 1916) was an Italian sculptor, known primarily for his bronze sculptures of wildlife subjects. During World War I, he volunteered for paramedical work at a military hospital in Antwerp, an experie ...

and automobile manufacturer

Ettore Bugatti Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881 – 21 August 1947) was an Italian-born French automobile designer and manufacturer. He is remembered as the founder and proprietor of the automobile manufacturing company Automobiles E. Bugatti, wh ...

, he moved in 1910 to Pierrefonds where he established an atelier. From 1914 to 1918 he was nominated mayor of the village, and the outspoken anti-German industrialist

Adolphe Clément-Bayard Gustave Adolphe Clément, from 1909 Clément-Bayard (22 September 1855 – 10 March 1928), was a French entrepreneur. An orphan who became a blacksmith and a '' Compagnon du Tour de France'', he went on to race and manufacture bicycles, pneumati ...

, who lived at the ''Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt'', entrusted its upkeep to him. From then on, he devoted himself entirely to painting. After the suicide of his son Rembrandt in 1916, Bugatti, then 60, produced less, but he remained influential. In 1935, at the age of 79, he retired near his son Ettore's family in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. He settled in a flat north of Château Saint-Jean,

Dorlisheim Dorlisheim (; gsw-FR, Dorelse) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Economy The headquarters of Bugatti Automobiles is located at the Château Saint-Jean just outside Dorlisheim. File:Dorlisheim, Ch ...

, with his wife Teresa (who died shortly afterwards), at the domain of promotion of Bugatti property of his son Ettore. Carlo Bugatti spent his last months at his apartment at the Bugatti factory in

Molsheim Molsheim () is a commune and a subprefecture in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

, where he frequented the workmen and the house of 'the Hardtmühle', living with Ettore and his family. In April 1940, he died at the hospital in Molsheim. He is buried in the Bugatti family cemetery at Dorlisheim. The Bugatti section of Molsheim's municipal Musée de la Chartreuse displays works and items in his remembrance.

References

External links

Bugatti.com BioCarlo Bugatti: Furniture as Futuristic SculptureBugatti Trust Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugatti, Carlo 1856 births 1940 deaths École des Beaux-Arts alumni Art Nouveau designers Brera Academy alumni Italian designers Italian expatriates in France Italian furniture designers Artists from Milan People from Oise Businesspeople from Milan