Romano Artioli and Franco Maria Ricci

In 1991, I was working for Bugatti Automobiles. One day Franco Maria Ricci, who already desired to celebrate the myth of the Bugatti, suggested to Romano Artioli, the company owner, the idea of a book on the legendary label. They reached an agreement and the idea went through. Naturally, Artioli mention "the best photographer in the word" to Ricci, strongly encouraging my candidacy for the job. Ricci, as expected, was skeptical. "I have my photographers, ones I trust", he said in a half smile. The persistency of Artioli gained me a meeting with Ricci. "Go and take a few shots; we'll see", he said to get rid of me.

A cold night in Alsace

I felt well-equipped on my departure. 145 different accessories in the trunk of my station wagon. For months, I had been working on how to build a mobile set around a Bugatti, on location. Before violating that holy ground, I carried out a test: I photographed a Lancia Thema in a large shed. It worked, so I decided to go ahead. After arriving at the National Museum of Automobiles at Mulhouse in Alsace, I started my nocturnal marathon. In the dangling atmosphere, in the eery silence, I came face to face with the Divine. The situation reminded me of one of Hemingway's stories: the bull and the lion still before the charge. I was almost worried that the steel muscles could explode, at any time, in all their power and the beast within could run me over like a train. I had an emotional outburst, I felt like I had a fever. As a robot, I kept shooting and opening Polaroids. I was looking at Her but I could not see inside Her. Fatigue and tension made everything even more dramatic. "What am I doing in France, in the middle of the night, in a dark museum? Why didn't I say home?", I started thinking.

The turning point

All of a sudden I had reached the turning point: I opened yet another Polaroid, but this time I found the courage to look at it through a photographer’s eye. I had recognized Her, the Divine, in all her dazzling beauty. "I am yours. Only you will be able to own me", she was saying. I started dancing like I was in the middle of the Rio de Janeiro carnival parade. I didn't feel tired anymore. "I did it!", I said, my voice echoing in the empty museum. I had finally gotten a hold of the situation. I had jumped on the wild horse and I was riding as a Native American would. I arrived to Franco Maria Ricci, feeling confident and seeming cold blooded like a contract killer. I knew I was in the presence of one of the most refined editors the world had ever seen, but I also knew that I could not fail: if he had any taste at all - and it could not have been otherwise - he could not stay indifferent after seen my work.

The presentation in Milan

Ricci received me with a smile which was more gentle than polite; the smile you would give to a child who is showing you his drawing. After his eyes laid on the first photo his expression changed and suddenly brightened. "But they are... lit!", he whispered to himself. "Of course they are! Did you think I would bring you the dark ones?", I answered in friendly yet amused manner. It felt like I was watching from the outside, as if I was the spectator of a film. Franco Maria Ricci picked up the phone. "Come and look at something sensational!", he said and then ran down the corridor enthusiastically. "Call the others and tell them to come to my office". He looked at me excitedly in front of all his associates, as if I was a super hero, and offered me some incredible projects: on Spanish Baroque style, on medieval armors, on the city of Parma, and on French ebony-cabinet-makers. He had basically just assigned me all his following projects. I had managed to greatly impress Franco Maria Ricci, the king of aesthetics! To think only a few years before, all I was able to impress was a film.

 

Divina Bugatti
Franco Maria Ricci 1991

 

Unanimously regarded, by connoisseurs as well as fans as the most beautiful car ever built anywhere in the world, Bugattis are still considered as masterpieces of automobile design. The factory, founded by Ettore Bugatti in the Alsatian town of Molsheim, became a sort of central hub for mechanical engineering, producing not just cars, but also developing innovative projects for ships, aeroplanes and trains, foreseeing many of the technical developments to come.

Titolo: Divina Bugatti
Pagine: 127
Tavole: 85
Foto: Roberto Bigano
Autori: Giuseppe Maghenzani, Norbert Steinhauser, Paul Kestler, Ivo Ceci., AndreaTabucchi
Edizione: italiana e francese
Traduzione: Cinzia Mascheroni
Formato: cm 30x30
Rilegatura: In seta nera “Orient”, con plancetta a colori, impressioni in oro e cofanetto
Iconografia: Fotografie dei vari modelli della nota casa automobilistica di Molsheim
Colophon: 5000 italiano + 5000 francese, con esemplari numerati
Carta: a mano, Ingres, azzurra, Cartiere Miliani di Fabriano
Fotolito: Bassoli, Milano
Stampa: Grafiche Milani