Giorgio Camuffo, BODONI, 2016

“With his inimitable drawings, Giorgio Camuffo sweeps away the pompous encrustations, the devout bows and the aura of sacredness that have enveloped Giambattista Bodoni for two centuries. Camuffo strips the man bare, even literally, and offers us an original and surprising comedy.” James Clough

Inspired by the historical biography of Bodoni, Vita del Cavaliere Giambattista Bodoni tipografo italiano (Life of the Italian typographer Giambattista Bodoni), written in 1816 by Giuseppe de Lama, Giorgio Camuffo constructs an illustrated biography of Italy’s most famous typographer. Camuffo’s ironic and original illustrations contrast effectively with the nineteenth-century language of the text (strictly in Bodoni!) and take the reader on an entertaining journey through salient episodes of his life and lesser-known anecdotes, bringing to life the figure of Giambattista Bodoni, man and citizen as well as incredible craftsman and inventor of typefaces.