Rembrandt Bugatti

Galerie A.A. Hébrard, Paris (by 1908)

Sale: Tajan, Paris, December 19, 2001, lot 19

Private Collection, Europe

The Sladmore Gallery, London

Acquired from the above

(possibly) Paris, Galerie A.A. Hébrard, 1907

Jacques Chalom des Cordes & Véronique Fromanger des Cordes, Rembrandt Bugatti, Catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1987, illustration of another cast pp. 152-153

Bugatti (exhibition catalogue), The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999, illustration of another cast p. 52

Edward Horswell, Rembrandt Bugatti, Life in Sculpture, London, 2004, illustrated in color p. 137

Véronique Fromanger, Rembrandt Bugatti - Sculpteur, Répetoire Monographique, Paris, 2009, no. 164, illustration of another cast p. 287

Excellent condition. The bronze displays a uniform dark brown-black patina that is in excellent condition. The patina is slightly lighter at the small texture area, which is inherent to the casting, at the figure's proper left foot. There are no significant scratches or abrasions. The sculpture is structurally sound.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

One of his rare works that combines man and beast, La Femme au chat dates from the time when Bugatti turned his attention towards human subjects.  According to Edward Horswell, Bugatti's contract with the Hébrard foundry "was principally to make animal pieces, so the artist's nudes may have been made primarily for his own satisfaction, as well as possibly on commission.  His most intense period of figurative work around 1907 led to a deepening of the psychological dimension in his animal pieces.  The present work, then, is of special interest, brilliantly combining the slightly complacent, almost conventional charm of the girl with the wonderfully captured limpness of the tolerant animal" (E. Horswell, op. cit., p. 136). 

As A.A. Hébrard was responsible for casting Degas' wax sculptures of ballerinas in the 1920s, the foundry gained extreme proficiency in rendering the suppleness and nuanced contours of the female body in the medium of bronze.  The present cast, which is only one of three of this form created by Hébrard, retains the sharpness of detail and delicacy of form of Bugatti's original model.