Carlo Bugatti

signed on the backrest, and with medallion 'Marca deposiata Carlo Bugatti'

Alain Lesieutre, Paris
Sale: Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, Collection Alain Lesieutre, 13 December 1989, lot 317
Acquired directly from the above

Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Die Bugattis, 1983, pl. 5, cat. no. 56
Paris, musée d'Orsay, reConnaître Carlo Bugatti, 2001, pp. 56-57, cat. no. 50, & p. 93

Philippe Dejean, Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean Bugatti, Paris, 1981, pp. 72-73, a closely comparable example exhibited at the Esposizione Internationale d'arte Decorativa Moderna, Turin, 1902

A handsome, well proportioned armchair. The vellum has a richer tone than suggested by the catalogue illustration. Overall wear, discolouration, staining and minor spots of verdigris to metal as one would expect from age and materials. There has been some restoration, with small areas of renewal to the vellum to edges and, more noticeably, to the vellum on the rail at the back where the vellum in still torn and the area around it is discoloured. There is also an unrestored tear to the vellum just below the metal at 2 o'clock on the back rest, visible in catalogue illustration. Vellum on seat is rippled and has an opaque quality and losses to a light varnish which results in a uneven finish. Painted female profile is somewhat faded, as are some areas of decoration elsewhere, particularly to the red details on the backrest. Patina to mounts is generally worn, again commensurate with age, and the mount at the top of the backrest is very slightly lifting. Holes in the wood at the centre of the metal mounts on the inside of the feet (one visible in catalogue illustration) suggest that a stretcher, and possibly wooden roundels like those on the outer face, may be missing. The metal sabots are possibly replaced. Nonetheless, this is a good and rare example of Bugatti's extraordinarily imaginative vellum covered furniture.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This armchair, with its classically influenced profile of a young girl, is a perfect example of Carlo Bugatti's work at the turn of the 20^th century.

Son of a renowned sculptor, Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940) was brought up in an artistic atmosphere and developed an interest in architecture at a young age. He eventually devoted himself to the creation of furniture and became a successful cabinet-maker, celebrated for his highly distinctive vision. In common with many designers at the end of the 19^th century Bugatti was fascinated by the art of the Renaissance, and his work was also greatly influenced by the art and architecture of the Middle East. He frequently employed the techniques and materials of oriental craftsmen, including the extensive use of vellum, copper, and bone and metal inlays. His perennial attraction to architecture is evident in the clearly visible structure of his pieces, which combine geometric motifs into original shapes.

This armchair is typical of the direction that Bugatti's work took at the beginning of the 20^th century, when he began to hide the wooden structure of his furniture by covering his creations entirely in vellum. The general line of his armchairs became simpler, and put the emphasis on the decoration. He worked primarily with circular and scalloped shapes, present here in the backrest and the copper elements that connect the feet. This organic style anticipated the extraordinary sculptural forms which would find their pinnacle in the four rooms designed for the Turin exhibition in 1902.  Bugatti used copper to underline the general structure, in this case using both the prominent scalloped elements together with strips of copper on the seat and back-rest, all decorated with repoussé dragonflies. Covering furniture in vellum gave Bugatti the opportunity to apply painted polychrome motifs to the expansive white surfaces, and he used these both to maintain the unity of the decoration by painting similar motifs to those on the copper and to further highlight the structure of the chair. The gold and reddish-orange pigments used for the painted dragonfly and floral motifs compliment the polished copper, and contrast with the whiteness of the vellum to give this armchair a great sense of luxury.

The bronze sabots of the present armchair, cast in the form of a fantastical animal, are a pre-cursor to Bugatti's extraordinary works in silver or bronze which were made by the silversmiths A.A. Hébrard.  These pieces, small in number, draw upon a bestiary that included zoophytes and other creatures of Bugatti's vivid imagination.