14 Bis. 14P REMBRANDT BUGATTI (1884-1916) Three walking panthers signed, dated 'R Bugatti 905', inscribed '- Al sig. A A. Hébrard che l'arte e il nome mio fece. -and bears the founder's stamp 'Cire Perdue. A.A. Hébrard' (on the terrace). bronze with shaded brown patina signed, dated 'R Bugatti 905', inscribed '-Al sig. A A. Hébrard che l'arte e il nome mio fece.-' and stamped with the foundry mark 'Cire Perdue. A.A. Hébrard' (on the base) bronze with mixed brown patina 24 x 150 x 23 cm. 9 7/16 x 59 1/16 x 9 1/16 in. Conceived and executed circa 1905, this work is a unique piece. Conceived and executed circa 1905, this work is a unique piece. This work is registered in the archives of the Rembrandt Bugatti Repertoire and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. This work is recorded in the archives of the Rembrandt Bugatti Repertoire and is offered together with a certificate of authenticity. Provenance Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard Collection. Private collection (by descent). Private collection (acquired from the latter in the 1970s). Exhibitions Paris, Salon d'automne, Collection A.-A. Hébrard, 1905, no. 259, (titled Les panthères). Lausanne, Galerie Paul Vallotton, Rembrandt Bugatti, May 1965. Brussels, Galerie Le Brun et Maison L'Ecuyer, Rembrandt Bugatti, sculpteur animalier, 10 January 1967 - 10 January 1968. Bibliography V. Fromanger, Rembrandt Bugatti. Répertoire monographique. Une trajectoire foudroyante, Paris 2016, no. 126, (illustrated on cover (detail), p. 52 & 53, p. 89, p. 298 & 299 (detail)). "To Mr A.A. Hébrard who created the artist and the man." "To Mr A.A. Hébrard who created the artist and the man." Three Panthers Walking by Rembrandt Bugatti is a masterly sculpture in every respect. This iconic work, 150 cm long and executed by the artist around 1905 at the age of 21, unsurprisingly illustrates the cover of Véronique Fromanger's Répertoire monographique des œuvres de l'artiste. Dedicated in Italian to Hébrard, "Al'sig. AA Hebrard che l'arte e il nome mio fece", his founder and patron, this sculpture of the Three Walking Panthers is a unique piece. Aware that it was one of the artist's masterpieces, Hébrard always kept it in his collection, before it was passed on to his heirs. It then remained with a major collector until today, when it is being presented at public auction for the very first time. Rembrandt Bugatti was born in Milan in 1884, and grew up in an environment of intense artistic emulation: his uncle Giovanni Segantini and family friend Paul Troubetzkoy, both artists, encouraged him along this path. His father, Carlo Bugatti, who designed furniture combining architectural and animal elements, also trained him in his workshop and passed on his know-how. Bugatti explored various media: drawing, wood, metal, stone, plaster and plastiline. The year 1901 marked a turning point in his artistic life. During a stay in the Swiss mountains with his uncle Segantini, inspired by what he saw, he modelled for the first time freehand, Ritorno dal pascolo, four cows walking one behind the other, guided by a farmer. Inspired by his surroundings and a great lover of animals, the artist also depicted his pet dogs. Bugatti shaped the beginnings of what was to be his lifelong artistic quest: to capture in the fleeting moment the personality, character and emotions of the animals he loved so much and to which he felt so close, much closer than to humans. Far from confining himself to domestic animals, Bugatti discovered the zoos of Paris and Antwerp and thus broadened his artistic corpus with the representation of wild animals, which he tamed little by little, feeding them, talking to them and spending most of his time among them. In 1903, Bugatti moved to Paris and began visiting the Menagerie at the Jardin des Plantes. He was fascinated and moved by the exotic fauna that was to be the greatest inspiration of his life. Animals such as the anteater, tapir, stork, marabou, yak, birds of prey and kangaroo entered the history of European art as sculpted subjects for the first time. His interest turned to large predators, including wild animals. He came to share the life of the felines on a daily basis. He got to know each of the panthers, their characters, their postures and their interactions. Thanks to his visual acuity, his speed of execution, and his extraordinary love of animals, he shapes these felines, which he considers to be "his life and work companions", freehand and in situ. In her book, Véronique Fromanger explains: "Bugatti modelled his subject on the spot, from a single stroke to completion, without any preparatory sketches or photographs, and without any reworking in the studio or casting. The artist's genius lay in his ability to depict moving animals in a way that was both precise and complex, based on an ephemeral moment. "Bugatti captures the moment in analysis and synthesis, in a constant face-to-face encounter, observing his model with all his mind and nervous system, with all his senses, with sounds and smells; he fixes it mentally and imprints it in his visual, sensory and manual memory, then restores it in a multi-dimensional model. Each work is a spontaneous, sincere and profound dialogue, reflecting the artist's understanding and esteem for his model. The animals are not portrayed in heroic or ferocious poses, but in all their simplicity and grandeur. The harmony that emanates from Bugatti's compositions also comes from this natural, wild simplicity. Bugatti does not idealise or embellish, nor does he invent a fake or superficial scene, but rather accurately transcribes the purity of these beings in the essentials of their daily lives and relationships. It was in 1904 - 1905 that the young Italian sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti created this emblematic work, Three Panthers Walking. The three panthers are each represented in their individuality. The first is a female in gestation, leading the way with a determined posture. She guides her fellow panthers with long, confident strides. The male, in the centre, is recognisable by his more massive, vigorous stance. As he extends his paw to rest on the ground, he curls his head and neck, stretching his back and gracefully unfurling his tail. This S-shaped curve reveals all its bulging muscles and reveals its power and suppleness. The last panther, the one behind the male, shifts slightly and turns her head to dodge the moving tail. Its younger, more graceful and agile figure gives it an energetic and alert attitude. These panthers, although conscientiously individualised, are all linked in movement. They seem to move in a single step. Having remained in private hands for over a century, the patina is extraordinary, with nuanced brown tones texturing the surface into a shimmering fur, making the light shimmer off the curves and muscles in a kinetic way. This work exudes a perceptible and captivating multi-sensoriality. The year it was created, the work was exhibited in Paris at the Salon d'Automne by its founder and dealer, Adrien Aurélien Hébrard. Of Bugatti, he said: "At first, I was suspicious of this pretty, overblown name, evocative of so much glory and too much art, when a friend urged me to see the young artist's work [...] Instead of the little Italian with his dexterous hands, I found a real artist. [...] It happens too rarely that I find a sincere and personal artist for it not to be a joy for me to introduce him to the public. A solitary artist, Bugatti was fortunately very close to his brother Ettore, his sister-in-law and their children, who were real pillars in his life, providing him with invaluable support. Concerned by the political and social issues at stake while the Great War was raging in Europe, and eager to help the wounded, he joined the Red Cross. Back in Milan, he tried to join the Italian army in 1915. Stricken with tuberculosis, he was discharged and returned to Paris. There followed a dark period for the artist. The Hébrard foundry and gallery were closed, he was ill and had difficulty coping with being a burden on his struggling family. Rembrandt Bugatti died in his Paris studio at the age of 31. Bugatti's work stands out for its remarkable mastery of the medium, its spontaneity and its freedom of gesture. Trois panthères marchant embodies the quintessential virtuosity of this extraordinary artist. His sense of observation and empathy give this sculpture a striking presence and authenticity. It is touching in its sensitivity, and bears witness to the artist's view of the animals he loved so much. Now considered one of the most important works of twentieth-century sculpture, Trois panthères marchant is being presented for the very first time at auction.