Rembrandt Bugatti

Rembrandt Bugatti was an Italian sculptor, known primarily for his bronze sculptures of wildlife subjects. His older brother Ettore later became one of the most famous automobile manufacturers in the world. Both grew up in an environment around famous artists. In Rembrandt’s youth he was a friend of Paolo Prince Trubetskoy. Bugatti’s sculptures of animals such as elephants, panthers and lions 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. In 1916 he committed suicide, poisoning himself after he learned that the Antwerpen Zoo, which was his main object to study wild livestock (elephants, tigers, lions), had been forced to kill most of their animals during World War I.

Rembrandt Bugatti was one of the pioneers of Art Deco in Italy and was considered one of the most important animal sculptors of his time. He received his first training from his father and Trubetskoy. In 1904 the family moved to Paris, where he exhibited with great success. As early as at the age of 25 he was appointed Knight of the Legion d’Honneur. In 1907 he went to Antwerpen. There, he worked for the Red Cross during the World War I before he fled to Paris. In just 15 years of artistic activity, he created 150 mostly small sculptures. It is not known which of his works Bugatti entered in Stockholm. In previous years he had created several stone and bronze sculptures of athletes, including the larger-than-life statue of the Naked Giant from 1907, which can now be seen in the garden of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.