Galerie A.A. Hébrard, Paris

M. Cruppi, Lyon (prior to 1906)

Private Collection (by descent from the above)

Sladmore Galle꧒ry, London (acquired from🦄 the above in 2008)

Acquired from the above in 2008

Jacques-Chalom Des Cordes & Véronique Fromanger Des Cordes, Rembrandt Bugatti: Catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1987, illustration of another cast pp. 30-31 (titled Lion et lionne dévorant)

Véronique Fromanger, Rembrandt Bugatti, sculpteur, répetoire monographique, Paris, 2009, no. 201, illustrations of another🐟 cast p. 259

Bugatti was unique among modernist sculptors in focusing on depictions of wild animals.  So fascinated waᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs he by this subject that he worked primarily outdoors at the Jardin Zoologique in Antwerp after moving to the city in 1907 so that he could study the nuances of animal behavior.  He rendered his figures in plastiline, a typical Italian modeling clay, using&nbs💟p;strokes of his thumbs, and working with the Hébrard foundry with the aid of chief founder Albino Palazzolo, who cast the finished works in bronze. 

One of the most compelling features of the present work is the interplay of light on the surface of the bronze.  The emphasis on the reflective power on sculpture was a particular concern of Italian artists, which Bౠugatti has addressed very beautifully here.  His interplay of light and shadow evokes the concerns of the Impressionists in the 1870s and 1880s.  With this sculpture, however, the aesthetic is reinterpreted for a new generation.