Son of the renowned interior designer Carlo Bugatti and younger brother to the car manufacturer Ettore Bugatti, Rembrandt Bugatti is known both for his bronze animal sculptures and his untimely end. Born in Milan in 1884, he would complete his first major work in 1901 – a group of four cows – which heralded his enduring focus on wildlife. Bugatti’s talent was soon recognized and he knew success at an early age. Achim Anscheidt, head designer at Bugatti Automobiles, would go on to say that he had a singular capacity “for capturing the movement of animals in the most expressive way possible.” In 1904, he signed an exclusive contract with the foundryman Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard. The quality and patina of the bronze he received from this partnership remain highly sought after on the art market today. Aware both of the renewed interest in animal subjects in the nineteenth century, not least in the paintings of Géricault and Delacroix, and the Florentine bronzes of his countrymen Giambologna and Verrocchio, Bugatti sought to redefine the role of the beast in art. He committed suicide at the age of 32, putting a tragic end to his most promising life.