In Jument et son poulain Rembrandt Bugatti explores the animals’ relationship, conveying a deep sense of affection and maternal protectiveness between the graceful equines. No doubt impressed by the sheer power of the animals, charmed by their poise and inherent grace, the sinuous lines of their legs exemplify the brilliance of the artist’s skill in capturing the linear elegance of the horses’ anatomy. Bugatti did not confine himself to the elegant pose of the prancing mare however, but seized upon the subtle awkwardness of the young foal as it attempts to navigate the world, demonstrating the artist’s keen observation of his animal companions.
Fig. 2 Marino Marini, L'Idea del Cavaliere, polychrome wood, 1956, sold: Replica Shoes 's, New York, May 8, 2007 lot 47 for $7,040,000 © 2020 Marino Marini / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The figure of the horse was, of course, more tied to domesticated human activity than many of the other animals depicted by Bugatti. From working animals who dragged plows and heavy loads on farms and between villages, to highly strung racers bred expertly for speed, sport and competition, to the powerful war horses who went into battle, equine history was intimately entangled with that of mankind. When depicted by artists who came immediately before or after Bugatti such as Edgar Degas and Marino Marini, the horse was most often associated with the human figure (see figs. 1 & 2). In the present bronze the character of the horses themselves are completely divorced from any human context, which was the case with so many of Bugatti's animals and what set his works apart from his peers. Artists like Deborah Butterfield take this a step further where the artist herself identifies with the figure of the horse. In Butterfiled's case the equine figure is often made from found objects and represents both the artist herself and larger feminist stat.mes nt (see fig. 3).
Undoubtedly motivated as much by his devotion to creating powerfully modern depictions of the animal world as he was by exploring the formal possibilities of sculpture-making, it was no surprise that Rembrandt Bugatti signed a contract with the Parisian Foundry A.A. Hébrard in 1905. Known to produce only the highest quality bronze and silver casts, Adrien A. Hébrard and his workshop leader Albino Palazzolo recreated the dynamics of Bugatti’s sculpted forms in their arts du feu. The ability to reproduce the work in bronze became an essential element, without which it could lose its wonder, its originality. The delicate and nuanced sculpted surfaces required the high-level of finesse Palazzolo was able to achieve in the bronze medium; Palazzolo would go on to oversee the casting of the studio waxes of Edgar Degas in bronze. As is evident in the superb craftsmanship of Jument et son poulain, "the casting is one of the attractions which makes Rembrandt Bugatti's sculptures so precious in the eyes of many collects ors. Indeed, it is perfection in the translation of detail, the slightest quiver is espoused by the molten metal, and there is the richness and warmth of the patina and its generally dark quality which was desired by the artist" (P. Dejean, Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean Bugatti, Paris, 1981, p. 138). In addition to completing the casting process alongside Bugatti, Hébrard’s Parisian gallery on Rue Royale held annual exhibitions of the artist's new works and organized placement in the official French salons so integral to achieving success in the art world.
Meeting early success in his meteoric career, Bugatti won support from Hébrard and other dealers, most notably the Grubicy brothers, and as well as from critics. Louis Vauxcelles, the avant-garde art critic who is credited with coining the terms "Fauve" and "Cubist," wrote the following about Bugatti in Gil Blas in May 1907: “Rembrandt Bugatti has thrown himself whole-heartedly into his work in a highly successful attempt to prove that, though not yet thirty, he is not only already one of our greatest animal sculptors, but has also the talent and the technique to model the human body. His animals do not pose for him, they pass by, stopping a moment, surprised by the sculptor, their bodies arrested in realistic postures…. Here is great Art.” After receiving the Legion d’Honneur from the French government in 1911 and having been prominently featured at the Venice Biennale in 1914, Bugatti was poised on the brink of international fame and recognition. However, like many, the effects of the First World War would upturn so many aspects of daily life, dramatically altering his career and delaying the widespread recognition that Bugatti himself would never live to see.
Jument et son poulain comes from an edition of six numbered bronzes cast by Hébrard between 1904 and circa 1934. The individual plasters for the mare and foal figure form part of the permanent collects ion of Bugatti’s work held at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris (see figs. 4 & 5).
