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Lot Essay
Bugatti was born into an artistic family, his father Carlo the great innovator in Art Deco design and his brother Ettore, the creator of the sleek racing automobiles. During his childhood Rembrandt assisted his father in his studio in Milan. He was a quiet child, plagued by periods of self-doubt, anxiety and depression, that eventually led to his suicide at the age of thirty.
In 1904 Carlo and his family moved to Paris and it was there that Rembrandt entered the Socit Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He also befriended the sculptor Prince Paul Troubetzkoy who played a major role in the young Rembrandt's artistic development. Philippe Dejean comments, "Troubetzkoy, influenced by the example of Rodin, endeavored to depict movement, the ephemeral and precious instant, life and in its progression...But he also worked in animal sculpture and knew that this already was Rembrandt's predilection. According to the principles which were his, Troubetzkoy taught Rembrandt to model directly with his hands and fingers." (P. Dejean, Bugatti, New York, 1982, p. 130)
From an early age Bugatti was fascinated with animals and would often go to the Antwerp Zoo where he could study them in person. Unlike Antoine Barye, Bugatti's animals were set in a predator free environment. "...Rembrandt was not familiar with these Hunts and these merciless combats in which the wolf strangles the stag, the lynx attacks the elk, the tiger devours the gazelle, the panther pounces on the civet...He did an elephant caressing a small camel with his trunk, another enjoying the company of a doe and her faun...If we are attached to his animals, it is because we feel that they are venerable." (P. Dejean, Bugatti, New York, 1982, p. 134)
Mes Antilopes (La Caresse) is Bugatti's largest sculpture and the present work is the only known example of this size, cast in 1916.
In 1904 Carlo and his family moved to Paris and it was there that Rembrandt entered the Socit Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He also befriended the sculptor Prince Paul Troubetzkoy who played a major role in the young Rembrandt's artistic development. Philippe Dejean comments, "Troubetzkoy, influenced by the example of Rodin, endeavored to depict movement, the ephemeral and precious instant, life and in its progression...But he also worked in animal sculpture and knew that this already was Rembrandt's predilection. According to the principles which were his, Troubetzkoy taught Rembrandt to model directly with his hands and fingers." (P. Dejean, Bugatti, New York, 1982, p. 130)
From an early age Bugatti was fascinated with animals and would often go to the Antwerp Zoo where he could study them in person. Unlike Antoine Barye, Bugatti's animals were set in a predator free environment. "...Rembrandt was not familiar with these Hunts and these merciless combats in which the wolf strangles the stag, the lynx attacks the elk, the tiger devours the gazelle, the panther pounces on the civet...He did an elephant caressing a small camel with his trunk, another enjoying the company of a doe and her faun...If we are attached to his animals, it is because we feel that they are venerable." (P. Dejean, Bugatti, New York, 1982, p. 134)
Mes Antilopes (La Caresse) is Bugatti's largest sculpture and the present work is the only known example of this size, cast in 1916.