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Lot Essay
Eight examples of this cast are known to exist.
This work is accompanied by a certificate from Véronique Fromanger.
'Bugatti is a young man of extreme sensitivity, it impregnates his sculptures, he transmits it to us, like a magician who tames matter and transforms it. He cannot be told that animals do not have a soul: he discovers it, he brings it to life under his artist's hands. And that is probably where resides the secret of this creator, this gift he possessed and which remains alive in everything he produced' (M. Schiltz, Rembrandt Bugatti, 1885-1916, Antwerp, 1955).
Deux éléphants l’un derrière l’autre is an extraordinary example of Bugatti’s mastery in sculpture, demonstrating an exceptional acuity of observation and a true psychological depth. Deux éléphants se suivant represents two Asian elephants in line, the one holding the other’s tail with its trunk, a gesture which is said to have been taught to them by humans to maintain order. These monumental elephants striking in the subtle, expressionist manipulation of the clay, enhancing the nuances of the musculature and the movements of the elephants, also reveal the artist’s profound understanding and respect for his subject. As explained by Edward Horswell in his monograph on the artist: 'Uniquely, [Bugatti’s] sculptures of animals are true portraits, each of an individual character. It is the profundity and seriousness that he achieves through his formal explorations that mark him out as a unique figure in art history' (Rembrandt Bugatti, Life in Sculpture, London, 2004).
In 1903, the Bugatti family moved from Milan to Paris and Rembrandt spent most of his time at the Jardins des Plantes, fascinated by the great variety of animals in one of the most important zoos in Europe. He first encountered panthers, zebras and African elephants. Having become friends with the guardians, he was able to arrive before the public and set himself to work in front of the exotic animal enclosures, feed them, and study them from various angles. Developing an intense and sincere dialogue with his models and capturing the rhythm and movements of these animals, as well as their awkwardness with a deep empathy. For the eight years following 1907, Bugatti lived on and off in Antwerp, visiting their zoo, at the time the largest in Europe, practically daily. There, he discovered the Asian elephants, distinguishable from the African elephants with their smaller ears and better capacity to adapt to captivity. The Antwerp Zoo encouraged artists to visit, and allowed them complete freedom to set up their easels and tools wherever they wanted. The 'Elephant House' was a reproduction of an Egyptian temple, with a majestic and architectural facade, making it one of the most spectacular buildings in the zoo.
Bugatti’s method of working by this time had become a distinctive trademark of his style and an expression of his artistic philosophy. Having intensively observed each animal, he worked directly from nature, sculpting the plasticine, a revolutionary new wax- and oil-based type of modelling clay, on site at the zoo with full concentration to his subject, as described by Guillaume Janneau:
'A perfect disdain of conventional formulas, an extreme originality and a good understanding of animal life strike first in the one hundred pieces of sculpture exhibited at Galerie A.-A. Hébrard, 8, Rue Royale, a curious artist, Rembrandt Bugatti. It is for the fact that he executes his plasters entirely from nature, in the Zoological Garden. At length, he examines the model that interests him. Then he commences work. He models his plasters on the spot, waiting with a fertile patience in order that the animal be represented in the attitude which seems to him the most expressive, that which best reveals the flexibility of form and elegance of structure. He does not limit himself, like others, to taking a quick sketch from the model or a sketch to interpret at leisure in his atelier.…Bugatti is worth as much by feeling as by execution. He marvels at natural movement, at the muscle well adapted to its function, faced with the pure balance of muscular masses. And his hand immediately expresses his emotion with simplicity, without artifice. He finds witty features, discreet and restrained grace. The work of Bugatti is the way of The Jungle Book. It's ingenious, original, penetrating and just like Kipling' (Gil Blas, Paris, 1911).
This work is accompanied by a certificate from Véronique Fromanger.
'Bugatti is a young man of extreme sensitivity, it impregnates his sculptures, he transmits it to us, like a magician who tames matter and transforms it. He cannot be told that animals do not have a soul: he discovers it, he brings it to life under his artist's hands. And that is probably where resides the secret of this creator, this gift he possessed and which remains alive in everything he produced' (M. Schiltz, Rembrandt Bugatti, 1885-1916, Antwerp, 1955).
Deux éléphants l’un derrière l’autre is an extraordinary example of Bugatti’s mastery in sculpture, demonstrating an exceptional acuity of observation and a true psychological depth. Deux éléphants se suivant represents two Asian elephants in line, the one holding the other’s tail with its trunk, a gesture which is said to have been taught to them by humans to maintain order. These monumental elephants striking in the subtle, expressionist manipulation of the clay, enhancing the nuances of the musculature and the movements of the elephants, also reveal the artist’s profound understanding and respect for his subject. As explained by Edward Horswell in his monograph on the artist: 'Uniquely, [Bugatti’s] sculptures of animals are true portraits, each of an individual character. It is the profundity and seriousness that he achieves through his formal explorations that mark him out as a unique figure in art history' (Rembrandt Bugatti, Life in Sculpture, London, 2004).
In 1903, the Bugatti family moved from Milan to Paris and Rembrandt spent most of his time at the Jardins des Plantes, fascinated by the great variety of animals in one of the most important zoos in Europe. He first encountered panthers, zebras and African elephants. Having become friends with the guardians, he was able to arrive before the public and set himself to work in front of the exotic animal enclosures, feed them, and study them from various angles. Developing an intense and sincere dialogue with his models and capturing the rhythm and movements of these animals, as well as their awkwardness with a deep empathy. For the eight years following 1907, Bugatti lived on and off in Antwerp, visiting their zoo, at the time the largest in Europe, practically daily. There, he discovered the Asian elephants, distinguishable from the African elephants with their smaller ears and better capacity to adapt to captivity. The Antwerp Zoo encouraged artists to visit, and allowed them complete freedom to set up their easels and tools wherever they wanted. The 'Elephant House' was a reproduction of an Egyptian temple, with a majestic and architectural facade, making it one of the most spectacular buildings in the zoo.
Bugatti’s method of working by this time had become a distinctive trademark of his style and an expression of his artistic philosophy. Having intensively observed each animal, he worked directly from nature, sculpting the plasticine, a revolutionary new wax- and oil-based type of modelling clay, on site at the zoo with full concentration to his subject, as described by Guillaume Janneau:
'A perfect disdain of conventional formulas, an extreme originality and a good understanding of animal life strike first in the one hundred pieces of sculpture exhibited at Galerie A.-A. Hébrard, 8, Rue Royale, a curious artist, Rembrandt Bugatti. It is for the fact that he executes his plasters entirely from nature, in the Zoological Garden. At length, he examines the model that interests him. Then he commences work. He models his plasters on the spot, waiting with a fertile patience in order that the animal be represented in the attitude which seems to him the most expressive, that which best reveals the flexibility of form and elegance of structure. He does not limit himself, like others, to taking a quick sketch from the model or a sketch to interpret at leisure in his atelier.…Bugatti is worth as much by feeling as by execution. He marvels at natural movement, at the muscle well adapted to its function, faced with the pure balance of muscular masses. And his hand immediately expresses his emotion with simplicity, without artifice. He finds witty features, discreet and restrained grace. The work of Bugatti is the way of The Jungle Book. It's ingenious, original, penetrating and just like Kipling' (Gil Blas, Paris, 1911).