Rembrandt Bugatti (16 October 1884 – 8 January 1916) was an Italian sculptor, known primarily for his bronze sculptures of wildlife subjects. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he volunteered for paramedical work at a military hospital in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, an experience that triggered in Bugatti the onset of depression, aggravated by financial problems, which eventually caused him to commit suicide on 8 January 1916 in Paris, France when he was 31 years old.

Early life

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

into an artistic family, Rembrandt Bugatti was the second son of Carlo Bugatti and his wife, Teresa Lorioli. His older brother Ettore Bugatti became a famous automobile manufacturer. He was given his first name by his uncle, painter Giovanni Segantini. His father was an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

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 parents' friends were from the artistic world. In 1902, the family moved to Paris, where they lived in a community of

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

s. As a child, he hung around his father's workshop and was encouraged to try sculpting in

plasticine Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product category ...

by a family friend, Russian sculptor Prince Paolo 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 bronzes, which were exhibited and promoted by Hébrard. Bugatti's love of nature led to him spending a great deal of time in the wildlife sanctuary near the

Jardin des Plantes The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

in Paris or at the

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo () is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. History Since its ...

, where he studied the features and movement of exotic animals. His sculptures of animals such as elephants, panthers, and lions became his most well-known works. The 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 now highly priced. A cast of his 1909–1910 bronze, ''Babouin Sacré Hamadryas'' (Sacred

hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...

), was auctioned at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 2006 for $2.56 million. In May 2010, the ''Babouin'' reappeared at auction at Sotheby's (est. $2/3 million), along with a male and female ''Lion'' and ''Lionne de Nubie'' (est. $1.5/2 million and $1.2/1.8 million, respectively), a ''Grande girafe tête basse'' (est. $1/1.5 million) and seven other pieces from the S. Joel Schur Collection, perhaps the finest collection of masterpieces by Bugatti in private hands according to one report. One of the Bugatti pieces was reported sold apparently as part of a group of sculptures (with three

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

and a

Noguchi Noguchi (野口 lit. "field entrance") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Akira Noguchi (:ja:野口明, 野口明), baseball player, older brother of Jirō Noguchi * Akiyo Noguchi (:ja:野口啓代, 野口啓代), Jap ...

) for an aggregate of $20 million.

Later life and death

His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

. During World War I, he volunteered for paramedical work at a military hospital in Antwerp, an experience that triggered in Bugatti the onset of depression, aggravated by financial problems arising because now he was no longer able to give so much time to his artistic work. At the same time,

was forced, by feedstuff shortages, to start killing its animals, which deeply affected Bugatti because he had used many of them as subjects for his sculpture. In 1916, at the age of 31, he committed suicide.Philipp Demandt & Anke Daemgen: Ausstellungskatalog (''exhibition catalogue'') "Rembrandt Bugatti",

München Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

2014, p. 38 ff (in German) He is interred in the Bugatti family plot at the municipal cemetery in Dorlisheim in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

département of the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

region of France.

Gallery

Goodwood2007-055a Bugatti Hood Ornament Type 41 Royale.jpg, Type 41 (Royale) radiator cap Rembrandt Bugatti, Projet de monument - Allégorie de la Victoire.jpg, ''Project for a Monument − Allegory of Victory'', drawing (circa 1910), Musée d'art moderne et contemporain of Strasbourg Bugatti Molsheim 021.jpg, "Young female nude", 1907 ( Musée de la Chartreuse, Molsheim) Hamadryas Baboon by Rembrandt Bugatti, c. 1910.JPG, "

Hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...

", circa 1910 (

California Palace of the Legion of Honor The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum located in San Francisco, on the West Side of the city. Located in Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor is a component of the Fine Arts Museum ...

) Deux lamas - Rembrandt Bugatti (RF 3060) 01.jpg, "Two

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

s", 1911 (

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

) Dorlisheim tombe famille bugatti3.jpg, Grave of Rembrandt Bugatti in Dorlisheim

References

External links