- Rembrandt Bugatti
Rembrandt Bugatti (
October 16 ,1884 –January 8 ,1916 ) was an Italian sculptor.Early life
Born in
Milan , into a notably artistic family, Rembrandt Bugatti was the second son of Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940) and his wife, Teresa Lorioli. His older brother wasEttore Bugatti who became one of the world's most famous automobile manufacturers.He was given his first name by his uncle, the painter
Giovanni Segantini . His father was a successful and importantArt Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer who also worked in textiles, ceramics, and silver metalware. As such, Rembrandt Bugatti grew up in an environment where a great many of his parent's friends were from the artistic world. In 1902, the family moved toParis , where they lived in a community ofartisan s.As a child he hung around his father's workshop and was encouraged to try sculpting in
plasticine orclay by the family friend and renownedRussia n sculptor, PrincePaolo Troubetzkoy (1866-1938).Work
Rembrandt Bugatti was a young man when he began to work with the art foundry and gallery owner, Adrian Hébrard. He produced a number of
bronze s which were successfully exhibited and promoted by Hébrard. Bugatti's love of nature led to him spending a great deal of time in the wildlife sanctuary near theJardin des Plantes in Paris or at theAntwerp Zoo where he studied the features and movement of exotic animals. His sculptures of animals such aselephant s, panthers andlion s became his most valuable and popular works.The silver elephant mascot that sits on top of the radiator of the
Bugatti Royale was cast from one of Rembrandt's original sculptures.His art works are highly prized and are now also highly priced. A cast of his 1909-1910 bronze, "Babouin Sacré Hamadryas" (Sacred
Hamadryas Baboon ), was auctioned atSotheby's in 2006 for $2.56 million ["Antiques Roadshow Insider ", V.7, No.2, February 2007, p. 1.] .Decline
Rembrandt Bugatti suffered from mental health problems and he gradually slipped into a severe depression. During
World War I the Antwerp Zoo was forced to kill most of its wild livestock. This deeply affected Bugatti because he had used many of these animals as objects for his sculpture. In 1916, at the age of 31, he killed himself withnatural gas . He is interred in the Bugatti family plot at the municipal cemetery inDorlisheim in theBas-Rhin département of theAlsace region ofFrance .Notes
External links
* [http://www.wildlifeart.org/Collections/ArtistBio.cfm?tArtistid=359&tUrl=ArtistBioMain.cfm&UrlName=Artist%20Biographies Biography on the National Museum of Wildlife Art]
* [http://www.bugattibronzes.eu Website that sells original artworks by Rembrandt Bugatti]
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