Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
When it comes to car-making families, the Bugattis are in a whole other league: a family of artists who just happened to end up making cars.
Carlo Bugatti was a furniture and jewelry designer who was married to Teresa Lorioli. Together they had three children: Ettore, Rembrandt, and Denice. The younger son, Rembrandt, became an artist like his dad. And he sculpted animals from his observations in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris and the Antwerp Zoo.
Rembrandt's older brother, Ettore, meanwhile, gave up on art when he realized that he lacked his younger brother's talent. Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was born in 1881. As is the case with many parents, his father wanted him to follow the family tradition and learn an artistic profession such as painter, designer, or cabinetmaker. To please his father Ettore studied sculpture at the Fine Art Academy in Brea. But it didn’t take long until he realized that this wasn’t the right path for him.
"There are two types of artists," he once said "Those who are born artists. My brother was one of them. The other type, to which I belong, are those who try and create art but are not as gifted. One day they should wake up and realize that they ought to do something else. If they truly respect art, they stop and choose another path."
Sources
Ettore Bugatti
therake.com/stories/ettore-bugatti
secret-classics.com/en/140th-birthday-of-ettore-bugatti
secret-classics.com/en/ettore-bugatti-a-perfectionist
thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ettore-bugatti-16557.php
https://newsroom.bugatti/en/press-releases/the-genius-of-ettore-bugatti
Hellé Nice
bbc.com/sport/formula1/45796892
motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/helle-nice-the-socialite-model-turned-trailblazing-racer
petrolicious.com/articles/legendary-ladies-of-motorsport-helle-nice
Bugatti
theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/09/bugatti-cars-jewellery-jeremy-clarkson?CMP=gu_com
theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/06/bugatti-unveils-worlds-most-expensive-new-car
bugatti.com/brand/bugatti-models
bugatti.com/media/news/2018/the-bugatti-type-10
autoevolution.com/news/ettore-bugatti-a-royale-story-2934.html
history.com/this-day-in-history/bugatti-brother-commits-suicide
nytimes.com/2021/07/05/business/volkswagen-bugatti.html
When it comes to car-making families, the Bugattis are in a whole other league: a family of artists who just happened to end up making cars.
Carlo Bugatti was a furniture and jewelry designer who was married to Teresa Lorioli. Together they had three children: Ettore, Rembrandt, and Denice. The younger son, Rembrandt, became an artist like his dad. And he sculpted animals from his observations in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris and the Antwerp Zoo.
Rembrandt's older brother, Ettore, meanwhile, gave up on art when he realized that he lacked his younger brother's talent. Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was born in 1881. As is the case with many parents, his father wanted him to follow the family tradition and learn an artistic profession such as painter, designer, or cabinetmaker. To please his father Ettore studied sculpture at the Fine Art Academy in Brea. But it didn’t take long until he realized that this wasn’t the right path for him.
"There are two types of artists," he once said "Those who are born artists. My brother was one of them. The other type, to which I belong, are those who try and create art but are not as gifted. One day they should wake up and realize that they ought to do something else. If they truly respect art, they stop and choose another path."
Sources
Ettore Bugatti
therake.com/stories/ettore-bugatti
secret-classics.com/en/140th-birthday-of-ettore-bugatti
secret-classics.com/en/ettore-bugatti-a-perfectionist
thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ettore-bugatti-16557.php
https://newsroom.bugatti/en/press-releases/the-genius-of-ettore-bugatti
Hellé Nice
bbc.com/sport/formula1/45796892
motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/helle-nice-the-socialite-model-turned-trailblazing-racer
petrolicious.com/articles/legendary-ladies-of-motorsport-helle-nice
Bugatti
theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/09/bugatti-cars-jewellery-jeremy-clarkson?CMP=gu_com
theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/06/bugatti-unveils-worlds-most-expensive-new-car
bugatti.com/brand/bugatti-models
bugatti.com/media/news/2018/the-bugatti-type-10
autoevolution.com/news/ettore-bugatti-a-royale-story-2934.html
history.com/this-day-in-history/bugatti-brother-commits-suicide
nytimes.com/2021/07/05/business/volkswagen-bugatti.html
