Cats of Paris: And Elsewhere

- A wonderful gift for all cat lovers - A ride through the most coveted cars of the twentieth century, offering sumptuous color photography and stunning close ups - Every featured vehicle has risen significantly in price over the past five to ten years "These are the cars that most collectors would want to own for their looks, character, performance and driving enjoyment. They all broke the mold." - Simon de Burton Simon de Burton journeys through some of the most coveted cars of the twentieth century. From the Alfa Romeo 6C to the Porsche 996 GT3, the author has chosen cars from each decade from the 1930s to the early 2000s, his choices made from the perspective of the enthusiast and collector. All are considered 'milestone' cars and all have risen substantially in value in the past five to ten years. They are not all necessarily the fastest, rarest or most valuable cars, but they are all highly significant and highly regarded. These are the cars that should have been bought when they were new and kept for the future - now that they are truly desired. Features cars from across the varied spans of time, price and purpose, including: Lancia Lambda, Austin Seven, Volkswagen Beetle, Jaguar C-Type, Citroen DS19, Ford Mustang, DeLorean DMC 12, McLaren F1. - Finely drawn sketches, portraits and fantasies by one of the major theatre and opera stage and costume designers of the 20th century - Most of the watercolors and pencil drawings of her cats by Lila De Nobili included here are previously unpublished Paris cats have been celebrated by painters, writers and chansonniers since the 19th century, when Steinlein created the poster for the cabaret 'Le Chat noir'. An important place among these artists is occupied by Lila De Nobili, who moved to the French capital in 1945 and never left the 6th arrondissement, its quintessential neighborhood. She painted and designed stage sets for the Scala in Milan, the Op ra in Paris, the Covent Garden in London and many other theatres. Sought by the most famous directors, she designed costumes for Maria Callas, Edith Piaf, Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman. Just after the events of May 1968, she devoted herself exclusively to painting and adopted her first cat, Ulysse, in her apartment in rue de Verneuil. The feline family soon grew and Lila never tired of sketching them, drawing them, or painting them in watercolor. Most of these intimate works, full of insight and subtlety, were gifted to a friend, herself a cat lover, by Lila in her last years and thanks to this collection a book can now be published.

Author: Lila de Nobili
Publisher: Officina Libraria
Published: 11/19/2018
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.70w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9788899765941

About the Author
Lila De Nobili (1916-2002) was a painter, stage designer and costume designer. Of Italian and Jewish Hungarian parents, she was born in Castagnola (Canton Ticino, Switzerland). She moved to Paris in 1945 where she began her career as fashion illustrator for Vogue. In 1947 she started her career as stage and costume designer working for the most celebrated directors such as Raymond Rouleau, Luchino Visconti, Franco Zeffirelli, Peter Hall, Giancarlo Menotti. Considered 'the last great protagonist of the painted set', she retired from stage design at the end of the Sixties, to dedicate herself exclusively to painting. Claudie Gastine studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Marseille, her birthplace, and moved to Paris in 1960. She met Lila De Nobili at the Comédie Française and from her she learned stage and costume design for theatre and opera. She has worked behind the scenes for the past forty years. Francesca Simone is a restorer of paintings, and lives in Milan. The niece of Renzo Mongiardino, she curated his archive and was the editor of the new edition of Roomscapes (2017). Close to Lila De Nobili because of old family ties, she preserves many letters and works of art by her.


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