"Elephant Begging" by Rembrandt Bugatti

Balance was one of the central formal concerns of Rembrandt Bugatti as a sculptor.  In this charming 1908 sculpture entitled Elephant Begging, also known as Il y Arrivera, the artist is fascinated by the distribution of mass and weight in the animal's body.  Here, Bugatti has sculpted a young Indian elephant leaning over the railing at the Antwerp Zoo to take gently a morsel of food from an onlooker.  This sensitive portrayal conjures a sense of dignity and the obvious bond between man and animal.

We have cast Elephant Begging in our own California art foundry using 9 lbs. (4 kg) of pure bronze.  The sculpture has a wonderful impressionistic surface texture and boasts a gorgeous patina finish in tones of chocolate brown and amber.  Please be sure to click on the "View More Images" link above to see additional views of the artwork.

The sculpture is mounted onto a black marble base, and stands 10" high by 14.5" wide (25.5 cm high by 37 cm wide).  It is from an edition limited to just 100 castings.  Each sculpture is individually stamped in the bronze with its unique edition number.