Giambattista Bodoni

Giambattista Bodoni (February 16, 1740 in Saluzzo – November 29, 1813 in Parma) was an Italian engraver, publisher, printer and typographer of high repute remembered for designing a typeface which is now called Bodoni.

Giambattista Bodoni achieved an unprecedented level of technical refinement, allowing him to faithfully reproduce letterforms with very thin "hairlines", standing in sharp contrast to the thicker lines constituting the main stems of the characters. His printing reflected an aesthetic of plain, unadorned style, combined with purity of materials. This style attracted many admirers and imitators, surpassing the popularity of French typographers such as Philippe Grandjean and Pierre Simon Fournier.

Bodoni was appointed printer to the court of Parma in 1768. Important folio editions by Bodoni are works by Horace (1791), Virgil (1793), and Homer (1808).

The Bodoni Museum, named for the artisan, was opened in Parma in 1963.

ee also

Bodoni, a series of typefaces

External links

* [http://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/bodtip/index.html "Manuale Tipografico"] (1818), at Rare Book Room
* [http://www.typophile.com/node/42367 typophile: Giovanni Battista Bodoni or Giambattista Bodoni?]