- Giambattista Bodoni
Giambattista Bodoni (
February 16 ,1740 inSaluzzo –November 29 ,1813 inParma ) was an Italian engraver, publisher, printer and typographer of high repute remembered for designing a typeface which is now calledBodoni .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 andPierre 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), andHomer (1808).The Bodoni Museum, named for the artisan, was opened in Parma in 1963.
ee also
Bodoni , a series of typefacesExternal 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?]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.