REMBRANDT BUGATTI: HE KNEW ‘MORE ANIMALS THAN NOAH’

The elder brother of Ettore Bugatti, the auto pioneer, spent his days at Antwerp Zoo sculpting its inhabitants. When he took his own life at the age of 31 he left behind around 300 works — seven of which are offered in New York on 14 November

1 Bugatti was one of the finest ever sculptors of animal figures

From jaguars and giraffes to kangaroos and cassowaries, the range of creatures sculpted by Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916) was so extensive that one peer joked he had known ‘more animals than Noah’.

Rembrandt Bugatti (1885-1916), Lionne couchée bâillant, circa 1903. Sold for €841,000 on 23 November 2011 at Christie’s in Paris

Born in Milan, Bugatti moved to Antwerp when he was in his early twenties — purely to allow easy access to the city’s Royal Zoological Gardens, which was then the largest zoo in Europe.

2 He spent days observing — and often interacting with — his subjects

Pieces by so-called ‘animaliers’ had been popular, predominantly in France, from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. Parisian sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye is widely considered the father of the movement, and counted King Louis Philippe among his patrons. Bugatti’s career is often said to have represented the animalier’s  final hurrah.

Rembrandt Bugatti at the Royal Zoological Gardens in Antwerp © Rembrandt Bugatti répertoire 2016

But where his predecessors had sculpted in their studios, relying on photographs and drawings, the Italian would spend days on end observing (and often interacting with) his subjects before settling to work in front of them. ‘One key reason for this difference was Bugatti’s use of plastilina, a revolutionary new wax- and oil-based type of modelling clay,’ says Anika Guntrum, Director of Impressionist & Modern Art at Christie’s in France………………

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