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An artist amongst artists. The posters of 64 Oscar-winning films. All drawn freehand. Silvano Campeggi, alias Nano, at the age of 90 completed an exhibition on bullfighting in Crete and flew straight to the States, guest of honour at the tenth Syracuse International Film Festival with “his” Marilyn. The man who undressed Monroe with the sole purpose of making her portrait was this illustrator from Bagno a Ripoli. Brunelleschi’s cupola peers outside the windows of his studio overlooking the hills of Florence. The inseparable Elena is by his side; she is his model and muse, the curator of his impressive personal archive and the guardian angel of the domestic hearth. Nano works like this: a sheet cardboard, a charcoal stick, an inspiration. The colours come afterwards, with techniques that range from watercolour to felt-tip pens, Indian ink and graphite. An unpretentious man, when asked for his self-portrait for the Uffizi Gallery, he remained true to himself and donated a canvas that portrays him from the back. “What else could I do? In the middle of all those masterpieces...” he explains. His entire studio-home is overflown with sketches, hypotheses and hyperboles. From Gone with the Wind, to An American in Paris to Singing in the Rain, West Side Story, Some Like it Hot and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Remember the show bills outside cinemas? The only thing that certified their origin was the four-letter word “Nano” written somewhere on the poster. In Italy he made the drawings for maestro Alberto Manzi’s Orzowei. But how does one get to become a film poster artist? “You have to be equipped with plenty of passion and curiosity. Taking in everything that surrounds you. Imagining things. You have to know all the printing techniques; before even starting to do illustrations, you have to know how your creations are going to be printed. It’s not just a matter of aesthetics. My father was a typographer for Bemporad Marzocco and I followed in his footsteps.” Then came the Art School in his hometown, Florence. Soon after he picked up his first job as book illustrator, working for pub-
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ACRYLIC OR TEMPERA, ONLY LOVE AND HUMILITY COUNT
lishing houses Salani and Nerbini. When he was at Nerbini, in 1938, he even worked (if this is indeed the right word) with Federico Fellini: “We were both drawing cartoons for 420 (a satirical publication, Ed.), and he signed himself Fellas.” Then came World War II, and a trip to Rome, the “open city”. “When I arrived there I was 22. I was an illustrator specialised in printing. I presented myself to poster artist Martinati, who was the king of silent movie bills. He couldn’t give me a job, but he introduced me to a small film studio, they made “Aquila Nera” with Gino Cervi in 1946. They saw my work and asked for more... and I haven’t stopped since.” As designer for the Photo-Engravers Union he made the stereotypes for Zincografica Fiorentina which would later print his posters. How many? Three thousand. “All made with the same technique. A white sheet and tempera or acrylic paint for the initial drafts. Drawing the poster itself, I made sure I left enough room for the titles. There was no such thing as photoshop or In-design; it was all done by hand. Perhaps young people today are missing the pleasure of experimentation. We had to do everything: draw, supervise the production phases, oil the machines and even sweep the floors.” The value of experience can be summed up in his philosophy: “We worked with the Americans because the Italians didn’t pay. Not me, because I used to get paid after doing the draft. They didn’t pay the printer.” His eyes light up as he shows us the horses of Ben Hur, “voted by American critics the best poster in the history of film.” From 1945 he created the image of movies by Metro Goldwin Mayer, Universal, Paramount. He defined the iconography of the stars: Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Rita Hayworth, Liz Taylor, Ava Gardner, Vivien Leigh. And Marilyn. He never turned down an offer: “They paid the same fee for the Pink Panther and Ben Hur.” Does this profession have a future? “Digital photography, apps and wireless networks have changed the way we see the world. But the pleasure of beauty, for those capable of appreciating it, is the real future of contemporary craftsmanship.”
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