.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Other casts illustrated:
cf. E. Horswell, Rembrandt Bugatti Life in Sculpture, London, 2004, pp. 13, 185 and back cover.
J.-C. and V. F. Des Cordes, Rembrandt Bugatti, Paris, 1987, p. 246.
P. Dejean, Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean Bugatti, New York, 1982, p. 160.
M. Harvey, The Bronzes of Rembrandt Bugatti (1885-1916), Ascot, p. 31, no. 17, for a cast with a figure of a lion on the same base.
This magnificent representation of a lioness boasts a scale that serves only to enhance its powerful presence. Modelled with Bugatti's inimitable blend of sensitivity and spontaneity, this figure is a consummate expression of his mastery. The work is dated by Des Cordes to 1910. It is worth noting that stylised big cats became a distinctive feature of the Art Deco style and were to be featured in countless contexts from folding screens to vases to jewels to free-standing decorative pieces. Working independently, and, it should be emphasised, as a powerfully expressive artist and not a decorative sculptor, Bugatti created the templates that a generation of artists adapted over a decade later.
This work will be included in the new edition of the Rembrandt Bugatti catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by Véronique Fromanger and due to be published shortly.
cf. E. Horswell, Rembrandt Bugatti Life in Sculpture, London, 2004, pp. 13, 185 and back cover.
J.-C. and V. F. Des Cordes, Rembrandt Bugatti, Paris, 1987, p. 246.
P. Dejean, Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean Bugatti, New York, 1982, p. 160.
M. Harvey, The Bronzes of Rembrandt Bugatti (1885-1916), Ascot, p. 31, no. 17, for a cast with a figure of a lion on the same base.
This magnificent representation of a lioness boasts a scale that serves only to enhance its powerful presence. Modelled with Bugatti's inimitable blend of sensitivity and spontaneity, this figure is a consummate expression of his mastery. The work is dated by Des Cordes to 1910. It is worth noting that stylised big cats became a distinctive feature of the Art Deco style and were to be featured in countless contexts from folding screens to vases to jewels to free-standing decorative pieces. Working independently, and, it should be emphasised, as a powerfully expressive artist and not a decorative sculptor, Bugatti created the templates that a generation of artists adapted over a decade later.
This work will be included in the new edition of the Rembrandt Bugatti catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by Véronique Fromanger and due to be published shortly.