Rembrandt BUGATTI (1884-1916) - Lot 38

Lot 38
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100000 - 150000 EUR
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Result : 138 000EUR
Rembrandt BUGATTI (1884-1916) - Lot 38
Rembrandt BUGATTI (1884-1916) Young Deer Scratching its Neck, circa 1906 Black patina bronze proof, signed, stamped "Cire perdue Hébrard", and numbered "2" on the terrace. Limited edition of 5 copies. Height Height : circa 25 cm Terrace : Length : 32 cm - Width : 11,5 cm Weight : 4,9 kg 100 000 / 150 000 € Related work : Musée d'Orsay, Young deer scratching its neck, plaster, Musée d'Orsay. Comparative bibliography: - Véronique Fromanger, Rembrandt Bugatti Sculpteur, monograph directory, Une trajectoire foudroyante, éditions de l'Amateur / éditions des Arènes, Paris, 2016, described and reproduced on page 310, no. 154. - Jacques-Chalom des Cordes and Véronique Fromanger des Cordes, Rembrandt Bugatti, catalogue raisonné, 1987, described and reproduced page 135. - Art et Décoration, 1913, article by André Salmon, reproduced on page 161. Provenance: - Émile Chouanard collection, acquired in 1907. - By descent to the present owners. A certificate from Madame Véronique Fromanger will be given to the buyer. Rembrandt Bugatti was a special genius, a meteorite in the art of his time. Although he died prematurely, he nevertheless found the time to create an animal pantheon that was more vivid than life itself, thanks to his long observation of the species he worshipped at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris and at the Antwerp Zoo, then the largest in the world. Born into a stimulating artistic environment (his father was the famous decorator and architect Carlo Bugatti, and his brother was the automobile designer Ettore Bugatti), the young Rembrandt was introduced to sculpture at an early age by his godfather Giovanni Segantini, the leading Italian Divisionist painter. In 1903, at the age of 19, the artist moved to Paris. The city was then bubbling with creative effervescence. He soon signed an exclusive contract with the French publisher and art founder Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard. Although Bugatti's work could be reproduced, it was nonetheless unique, as Hébrard imposed the concept of an original edition, strictly limited and numbered, which did not detract from the exceptional quality of each model. The deer presented here is one of the deer models that Bugatti seems to have particularly appreciated and that he observed in the Jardin des Plantes between 1904 and 1906. The deer are often depicted, in groups or alone, in gentle, serene, and spontaneous attitudes, thus distancing themselves from the hieratic nature of his felines. He delivers here the image of an animal engaged in an activity of a touching normality, using neither heroism nor symbolism to achieve it. The technique of bare hand modelling he adopts contributes to this impression of vitality, the artist's apparent touch making the light vibrate on the animal's coat. The condition of the antlers suggests that our young stag was captured in early spring. Having lost its antlers after the rutting season, we can already make out the pedicles that announce the future ramifications characteristic of its species. After the First World War, Rembrandt Bugatti contracted tuberculosis and killed himself at the age of 31. This tragic end contributed to the aura surrounding his Menagerie. In the words of André Salmon, he was "a skilful and tender artist, the sculptor of a generous idea". We would like to thank Mrs Véronique Fromanger for the precious information she has given us.
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