Bodoni 1740-1813

Neoclassical, Bodoni conceived his alphabets the way the ancient Greeks conceived the Parthenon. He was relentless in every detail: alignment, spacing, equality of impression, the quality of the paper and ink... He paid special attention to what we could call the book's first page, the title page: a few black letters that stood out, in all their purity of form, against a large white page and the classic beauty of "Bodoni" typeface defied time while continuing to be a contemporary model of harmony and legibility. In addition to providing an account of Bodoni's life and works, the book strives to provide context regarding his working conditions: originally from Saluzzo, the typographer lived and worked in Parma, then a lively intellectual hotbed in the Europe of the Enlightenment. The book also explores his connections to rulers, Napoleon first of all, bibliophiles and the artistic movements spreading across Europe. Together with the texts, the images on the most beautiful pages, rare collectibles and extremely well-known works show the reader Bodoni's elegance and modernity, still unsurpassed today as a model of occidental graphics.