Rembrandt Bugatti

Private Collection, Paris
Sale: Sotheby's, Paris, June 3, 2008, lot 18
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Phillippe Dejean, Bugatti, Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean, Paris, 1981, illustration of another cast p. 352
Edward Horswell, Rembrandt Bugatti, Life in Sculpture, London, 2004, illustration of the larger version pp. 210-11 & 230
Véronique Fromanger, Rembrandt Bugatti Sculpteur- Répertoire Monographique, Paris, 2009, no. 206, illustration of another cast 
p. 300

Fig. 1 The artist modelling the present work at the Antwerp Zoo, circa 1908.

Dark green and brown patina. Work is screwed to a marble base. Minor patina rubbing on the tip of the nose, top of head, and sides of figure's front legs. Few minor nicks to the surface. Work is in very good condition.
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.

Bugatti's love of animals led him to Antwerp in 1907. It was here at the Antwerp Zoological Gardens, known then as the finest in all of Europe, that he was his most productive and content. As Véronique Fromanger, author of Rembrandt Bugatti Sculpteur- Répertoire Monographique, has written, "Bugatti would live among [the animals], observing them at length, securing their morphologies, their attitudes, their behaviour, their signs, their tones and resonance with his artistic malleability, each of them living in his own sensory world" (see fig. 1).

Éléphant d'asie "mendiant" exemplifies Bugatti's genius as it demonstrates not only his virtuosity as a sculptor, but also his immense sensitivity to the inner nature of his animal subjects. By choosing to capture the elephant begging for a treat, the subject is universally recognizable as a quintessential human/animal interaction. The moment is humorous and touching, as well as inherently fleeting, revealing Bugatti's remarkable familiarity with this animal's personality and mannerisms. As explained by Edward Horswell in his monograph on the artist, Bugatti, like the great painters of animals George Stubbs and Eugène Delacroix, "would bring to this tradition his own vision, empathy with animals and truth to observation. He would surpass the genre of 'animal art' and resist all definition as an artist, other than as one who forged his own vision and style. He used animal subjects at once for their own sake and as vehicles for the expression of emotion and the celebration of aesthetic form. He remained aloof from both the avant-garde and the conservative trends of his time. The distinctive, deeply rewarding, sometimes disturbing oeuvre that he created remains unique in art history" (Edward Horswell, op. cit., p. 17).

Fig. 1 The artist modeling the present work at the Antwerp Zoo in 1908