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Lot Essay
Nicknamed 'The Young Leonardo' for the diversity of his creative drive, Carlo Bugatti first studied art at the Brera, Milan's school of art, and later at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. While he was also versed in the art of architecture, it was his furniture and silver designs that ensured his fame. Bugatti soon found his way into artistic Milanese society and became friends with the poet Illica, the composer Giacomo Puccini and the painter Carlo Segantini. He and his wife Thérèse had three children - their son Ettore was to become famous as a car designer, while Rembrandt achieved lasting fame as a sculptor of animal bronzes.
Carlo Bugatti's designs for unique sculptural silver objects date from the latter part of his career and the earliest mention of them can be found in the context of his exhibit in 1907 at the gallery of A. A. Hébrard, best known as one of the most important Parisian founders of art bronze at the time. Bugatti's creations were wildely imaginative, only loosely based on identifiable animals. Bugatti christened them 'Ses Bêtes' - his creatures - not satisfied merely to stylize existing animals, but preferring to take the parts of them that he deemed beautiful and to combine them to create a menagerie both picturesque and novel. A better collaborator than Hébrard could hardly have been found for the execution of the pieces, as they worked at the high standard needed to convey the detailed and precise perfection of Bugatti's designs. Art critics of the time often lambasted Bugatti's pieces as being entirely fantastical and having no functional qualities whatsoever.
The present piece is a splendid example of Bugatti's fantastical imagination. It is a unique casting and bears the artist's engraved signature.
Carlo Bugatti's designs for unique sculptural silver objects date from the latter part of his career and the earliest mention of them can be found in the context of his exhibit in 1907 at the gallery of A. A. Hébrard, best known as one of the most important Parisian founders of art bronze at the time. Bugatti's creations were wildely imaginative, only loosely based on identifiable animals. Bugatti christened them 'Ses Bêtes' - his creatures - not satisfied merely to stylize existing animals, but preferring to take the parts of them that he deemed beautiful and to combine them to create a menagerie both picturesque and novel. A better collaborator than Hébrard could hardly have been found for the execution of the pieces, as they worked at the high standard needed to convey the detailed and precise perfection of Bugatti's designs. Art critics of the time often lambasted Bugatti's pieces as being entirely fantastical and having no functional qualities whatsoever.
The present piece is a splendid example of Bugatti's fantastical imagination. It is a unique casting and bears the artist's engraved signature.