How master sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne ‘transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary’

When the public first encountered François-Xavier Lalanne’s menagerie of large-scale animal sculptures during the mid-1960s, they were shocked. ‘The works were so outrageous and transgressive,’ notes Alex Heminway, Christie’s International Head of Design. The fact that numerous sculptures also contained hidden compartments and mechanisms only heightened their mystique. Today Lalanne’s creations feel equally as awe-inspiring, whether as fixtures in the homes of top collectors, from Yves Saint Laurent to Peter Marino, or gracing the verdant grounds of renowned institutions and gardens, as they did in the landmark 2021 exhibition, Les Lalanne à Trianon, at Versailles.

On 10 October, 70 sculptures hailing from the collection of the artist’s daughter will be offered at Christie’s New York. François-Xavier Lalanne, Sculpteur | Collection Dorothée Lalanne is an encyclopaedic representation of Lalanne’s admiration for the animal kingdom and the undeniable joy and dynamism with which he depicted its creatures. As a child, Dorothée had a front-row seat to her father’s creativity. Memories include exploring François-Xavier’s studio on Montparnasse famed artist alleyway, Impasse Ronsin, during the 1950s, and savouring countless home-cooked meals at his Ury countryside home, which he shared with his wife, the artist Claude Lalanne, from the 1960s onwards.

‘François-Xavier Lalanne had two passions: his profession and cooking. He spoke little about these subjects, as if they were self-evident, with the common thread being what he valued above all else in the world: know-how. And his ultimate goal, delectation’, writes Dorothée in the exhibition catalogue, which also includes her father’s proclamations on working life and cooking, together with a droll recipe for freshwater fish casserole, evidence of his lively and humorous approach to these prevailing passions. She tells Christie’s, ‘Everything was fresh—it was country life — he made homemade meals in every season, and so much of his life happened in the kitchen: professional meetings, friends stopping by for coffee…everything was enhanced by François’s paintings on the walls.’

Originality born from past masters

Endearing yet powerful, the genius of Lalanne’s sculptures is in their measured balance between realistic and imaginative depictions. Heminway says Lalanne’s distinctive amalgamation reflects the artist’s connection to art both centuries before and during his lifetime: ‘There’s this archetypal quality of humour, menace and fantasy that is highly reflective of antiquity.’ The work of the French Baroque painter Nicolas Poussin was especially influential on Lalanne during his early years as a painter, as were the drawings of neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. As many artists of his generation, Lalanne also admired Pablo Picasso’s work.

At the same time, Lalanne’s connection to Surrealism cannot be overstated. ‘He transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary’, says Christie’s Design Specialist Capucine Tamboise. ‘He was sculpting tangible dreams in which each object tells an ancient story.’ Many works have hidden functions, resulting in physiologically impossible metamorphic forms from sheep seats to rhinoceros bars. Normally found outside, these animals have infiltrated interiors, thanks to Lalanne’s cleverness and good humour. Dorothée Lalanne likens these traits to the prose of Oscar Wilde, whom her father greatly admired.

‘François-Xavier broke the traditional boundaries of sculpture. He hated the grandiose aspect of sculpture’, says Dorothée Lalanne. ‘He played with the conventions of sculpture by giving it a completely different function and a whole new perspective.’

‘Outside of nature’: Lalanne’s distinctive vision

Lalanne’s animals often take on human characteristics, both in their expression and physicality. ‘François-Xavier’s work isn’t of nature. It’s outside of nature. It’s supernatural,’ notes Heminway. ‘Yes, François-Xavier principally created animal and vegetable forms, but their work is in no way just a rehash of nature. It’s something much more mystic.’

This ‘something mystic’ may be, in part, a product of the unbridled bohemian spirit of Paris in the 1950s and 1960s, on the Impasse Ronsin. This notoriously ramshackle alleyway housed studios for artists including Constantin Brancusi, Max Ernst, Yves Klein, Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, all of whom inevitably inspired one another. Lalanne’s Génie de Bellerive pays homage to his friendship with and admiration for Ernst and Brancusi, the latter of whose studio was adjacent to Lalanne’s. An owl (one of Ernst’s most recognisable motifs) sits atop an undulating pillar (a reference to Brancusi’s Endless Column). Heminway says the work ‘reminds us that Lalanne is deeply embedded in the art history of the 20th century.’

Bronze and stone meet concrete and resin

‘Working with cast iron and metal was very hard work, but at the same time, it was fun. Boredom didn’t exist for François and Claude’, says Dorothée Lalanne, noting her father’s intense work ethic and attention to craftsmanship. ‘This relentless creativity, this nonstop work, is what drove them to experiment until the end and create this incredible universe.’

Material experimentation is another hallmark of Lalanne’s oeuvre. The Collection of Dorothée Lalanne marks the first time Christie’s will offer Lalanne’s famed Singe Alternatif in three different materials —patinated bronze, silver and zinc — in the same auction.

‘Marble was, of course, commonplace in Rome and Greece. And the beautiful stone of France’s villages is the epitome of the ordinary and the everyday. But now, simple materials are considered luxurious...

‘A brick wall can be beautiful if it’s well made, a breeze-block wall looks terrific if it’s well designed. At the moment, I’m finding it amusing to do something in concrete, just plain concrete, with a hotchpotch plaster or limewash...

‘Gold could be great too, but this is no longer the age of Montezuma...

‘Until Rodin and Bourdelle, the sculptor was a “master” — we might say “prisoner” today — of bronze, stone and marble. Then, all of a sudden, came Modern Art.’

Though he primarily worked in bronze and stone, Lalanne broke from classical sculpture, incorporating copper, concrete and resin. ‘Today an artist can play with media, but François-Xavier was one of the first to experiment in that way,’ says Daphné Riou, Christie’s Head of Design, Americas.

A master at every scale, from ‘petit’ to ‘grand’

The artist also was known for his mastery of different scales, titling various versions of his works ‘grand’ or ‘petit’ based on their size. Sculptures range from handheld birds to mammoth bears. ‘The large works push you back, while the little works pull you in with equal but opposite force,’ notes Heminway.

Four monumental works featured prominently in the artist’s 2021 exhibition at Versailles, which Heminway calls ‘one of the most joyful exhibitions of all time.’ Très Grand Ours (2009), a bear standing on its hind legs at over ten feet tall, can be seen as a reference to fellow French sculptor François Pompon, whom Lalanne admired, and the life-sized, striding polar bear sculpture he debuted in 1922.

In addition to Petit Génie de Bellerive (2010) and the metamorphic donkey, Âne Bâté (2005), the chateau’s grounds included Lalanne’s Lapin à Vent de Tourtour (2002). Comprising this ‘fantastical beast’, as Heminway describes it, is a rabbit’s head, bird wings, a fish tail and bovine hooves. As the enormous ears catch the wind, the head rotates, giving the sculpture an illusion of life. ‘He plays with everything: size, function and the spectator,’ adds Tamboise.

Lalanne once said, ‘If we place a sculpture in a landscape, it’s absolutely necessary that its presence be better than its absence.’ Indeed whether at Versailles or elsewhere, the sculptor’s menagerie of animals, big and small, inspire joy and awe in anyone who stands before them.

Main image, clockwise from left: François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008), Très Grand Ours, 2009. Patinated bronze. 124 x 58¼ x 59½ in (315 x 148 x 151 cm); François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008), La Vache Bien Établie I, 2003. Gilt bronze. 24¾ x 17¾ x 43¼ in (63 x 45 x 110 cm); François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008), Lapin à Vent de Tourtour, 2002. Patinated bronze. 72⅜ x 21¼ x 98⅜ in (184 x 54 x 250 cm) (ears backward). 72⅜ x 21¼ x 122 in (184 x 54 x 310 cm) (ears forward); François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008), Petit Rhinocéros III, 1987. Patinated bronze. 6¼ x 3⅞ x 13¾ in (16 x 10 x 35 cm); François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008), Canard aux Nénuphars, 1972. Porcelain elements executed by La Manufacture de Sèvres, Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine. Biscuit porcelain, copper. 11¾ x 38½ x 29½ in (30 x 98 x 75 cm). All offered in François-Xavier Lalanne, Sculpteur | Collection Dorothée Lalanne on 10 October 2024 at Christie’s in New York