If we wish to identify an artisan with a distinctive, sophisticated touch in the art of cabinet-making and furniture design, then we have no choice but to turn to Carlo Bugatti.
Bugatti's art marks an unsurpassed peak in the most polished form of eclecticism, midway between European Art Nouveau and Art Déco, an eclecticism skilfully interpreted with the ability to merge styles and forms and with the supreme skill of the gifted artisan, in keeping with the glorious tradition of the Renaissance workshop.
The marriage between lofty craftsmanship and art is the underlying element that informs the Bugatti's creativity: not only do his son Rembrandt's bronzes reveal a magnificent mastery of the genre, but also the legendary cars designed by Ettore are fully-fledged sculptures in their own right, dynamic art driven by the roaring spirit of Futurism.
This talented family was bred and fed on art and for art, educated to make its mark and capable of translating the immense influence of the still 19th century fin de siècle spirit into a work in which the Moresque style, a Middle Eastern flavour and a subtle hint of Japonisme are blended harmoniously into a powerful Symbolist atmospheric: an art at once extremely sophisticated and international, at once decadent and ultramodern.
In Carlo Bugatti's furniture, this marriage of exoticism and orientalism is reflected in his use of precious woods, bronzes, parchment, ivory, cord, nappa, silk, leather and other unusual and refined materials. Indeed it is no mere coincidence that his now iconic items of furniture are proudly displayed in numerous museums throughout Europe and the United States.