Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940)

Carlo Bugatti was born in Milan. He studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts at a time when artists, architects, writers and poets found a sense of community in what was known as the “Scapligiati”, the bohemians. Bugatti went on to develop a highly distinctive style, drawing inspiration from Moorish architecture, as well as Japanese and African culture. He combined a variety of exotic materials and types of wood.

Bugatti received his first significant acclaim at the exhibitions in Milan and London in 1888. He subsequently exhibited in Turin in 1898 and in Paris in 1900, and achieved a major breakthrough at the 1902 exhibition in Turin. Bugatti participated with a “Snail Room”, furnished, among other pieces, with his so-called “Cobra chairs”. In 1904, Bugatti moved with his family to Paris, where he sold his furniture through, among others, the Bon Marché department store. Bugatti’s motto was: “Every object can become a work of art.” He died in Alsace in 1940.