Ferrari Dino at Villa Del Balbianello, Lago di Como, Italy - Print

Background information about the artwork:

The Ferrari Dino 206/246 is the first model that Ferrari produced in relatively high numbers and as part of their "Dino" marque that was mostly reserved for mid-engine, RWD, sports cars. Powered by either a 2.0 L (Dino 206 GT) or the later 2.4 L V6 (Dino 246 GT & GTS), the Dino was named after Enzo Ferrari's son Alfredo, known by those close to him as "Dino." The car stood apart from the crowd at the time due to its soft edges and curved lines, a callback to Ferrari's classic models that gave way to the angular Ferraris of the 1970s and 1980s. Many outlets placed the Dino 206/246 among their list of greatest Ferraris of all time including Sports Car International and Motor Trend Classic. 3,721 examples of the Dino were built in both 2.0 L and 2.4 L configurations. 

This Dino, finished in Ferrari's iconic Rosso Corsa, is drawn in front of Villa del Balbianello, one of many classic villas that resides on the shores of Lake Como. A Franciscan monastery was originally built on the tip of the peninsula that houses the villa today before being purchased by Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini in 1785. In 1787, he converted the monastery into a villa for use during the summer and passed it on to his nephew, Luigi Porro Lambertenghi after his death in 1796. It became a hotspot for republican activity and meetings, often seeing renowned guests like writer Silvio Pellico. Lambertenghi later sold the villa to his friend, Giuseppe Arconati Visconti who made improvements to its gardens and loggia that last to this day. The villa continued hosting politicians and writers like Giovanni Berchet, Alessandro Manzoni, Giuseppe Giusti, and Arnold Böcklin. American businessman Butler Ames was eventually able to purchase the villa in 1919 and renovated it and its garden.

Ames's heirs sold the villa to Count Guido Monzino in 1974, the leader of the first Italian expedition to climb Mount Everest. He had the interior of the villa completely re-decorated with artifacts acquired on his expeditions as well as important pieces of English Georgian and French antique furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries. Monzino also added a system of hidden passages, linking parts of the property together. Following his death in 1988, he left the villa to the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI), the National Trust of Italy, who later added it to the Grandi Giardini Italiani and began a €413,000 restoration project in 2016.

The villa has been the location for many famous feature films including Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Casino Royale, the 21st movie in the James Bond series. Apart from serving as a backdrop in several scenes, it was also the hospital where James Bond recovered alongside Vesper as well as the location where the Swiss banker came to get the money transfer code. This illustration was first carefully hand drawn on paper, with immense attention given to ensure that the details of both the car and the background are identical to their real life counterparts. The drawing was then digitally illustrated and printed on large and luxurious museum-quality paper.