![]() His editions were intended to be livres d'apparat. He wrote: „Bodoni did not despise the masses - he forgot all about them! He was a court printer, existing by the patronage of the lucky few. Daniel Berkeley Updike, in his definitive 19th-century book Printing Types, accused Bodoni of caring nothing about printing as a means to instruct or edify the masses. Typography, they argue, has a history of providing inexpensive, attractive information to the masses and, in fact, the first typography in the Western world, Gutenberg's Bible, started this tradition. While all this grandeur and prosperity certainly must have been gratifying to Bodoni, some suggest that the concept and function of a „royalty press” run counter to the basic premise of typographic communication. By his own account, he was a wealthy man. One was a grant from the Duke of Parma, the other was from the printing and publishing he did on his own. It's true that his career began in this manner, but by the time he was 40 Bodoni had at least two sources of income. Some historians would have us believe that Bodoni struggled to get by on a meager salary with inadequate equipment. While he did not reside in a palace or command a variety of servants, neither did he have to be concerned where his lira were coming from, Bodoni was paid whether he worked or not. Luxury of choice and time in Bodoni's craft was complemented by the luxurious lifestyle he was able to maintain. Bodoni once confided to a friend that he agonized more than six months and produced thousands of trial proofs in the process of choosing just the right type for the title page of one of his books! But then, he had the luxury of virtually limitless time, money, and effort to spend on any given project. The typography Bodoni produced is still regarded as being among the most refined and structured printing ever produced. His work was probably the most honored - and least read - printing of his time. His books and other printing exercises were large, regal efforts meant to be looked upon and appreciated as works of art, rather than as mere pieces of communication. His goal was not to create type or typography to be appreciated by the masses. Had he known this fact, however, Bodoni would probably not have been very upset. By current standards, his designs are, in fact, the antithesis of what an easily readable typeface should be. Few would deny that Bodoni's typefaces are beautiful unfortunately, few would say they are also easy to read. His designs were studied efforts meant to be seen as well as read. And a few years later, when Napoleon drove the Austrian governors out of northern Italy, he continued his work under Imperial patronage.īodoni created typefaces and typography to impress the eye. After a relatively short apprenticeship, Bodoni became almost immediately the director of the royalty press belonging to the Duke of Parma. History has given him the title „the king of typographers and the typographer of kings”. In harmony with his „aristocratic” typefaces, Giambattista Bodoni lived a virtually aristocratic lifestyle. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |