Footnotes

Provenance
Galerie Guy Pieters, Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner circa 2008

Exhibited
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Les Lalanne à Bagatelle, 14 March-2 August 1998, p. 115, another example illustrated in color, pp. 37, 57, 147, other examples illustrated in color (installation views)
New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Les Lalanne, 6 November 2006-13 January 2007, other examples exhibited
New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Les Lalanne on Park Avenue, 12 September-20 November 2009, other examples exhibited
Coral Gables, Florida, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Les Lalanne at Fairchild, 30 November 2010-1 April 2011, n.p., other examples illustrated in color (installation views)
New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Les Lalanne Fifty Years of Work 1964-2015, 26 March-2 May 2015, pp. 71, 76 other examples illustrated in color (installation views)

Literature
Daniel Marchesseau, Les Lalanne, Paris 1998, p. 57, other examples illustrated in color
Dung Ngo Ed., Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne Art|Work|Life, New York 2012, n.p., other examples illustrated in color (installation views)



Born in 1927 in southwestern France, François-Xavier Lalanne moved to Paris at the age of eighteen to study art, finding himself the neighbor of sculptor Constantin Brancusi just a few years later. Brancusi became a strong influence on the young artist, introducing him to key figures in the contemporary Parisian art world including Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Man Ray and Jean Tinguely. After experimenting with painting, Lalanne instead decided to focus on sculpture after meeting his wife and artistic partner Claude Lalanne at his first gallery show in 1952.

Together the pair were known as Les Lalannes and became one of the most creative and experimental art duos of the Twentieth Century. Though Claude preferred to draw from nature while François-Xavier explored animal themes, both placed the functionality of sculpture just as high as its decorative qualities, which was a ground-breaking concept developing within design communities during the period. Initial interest in their work was sparked by glossy interiors spreads and photoshoots in the 1960s and big-name collectors such as Yves Saint-Laurent, who was an early patron. Together Les Lalannes created their own instantly recognizable style of surrealist sculpture, which combines playful whimsy with simplified elegance.

Throughout his career, Lalanne created a veritable zoo of rhinos, hippos, apes, monkeys, bulls, bears, hares and chickens, but it is sheep that have become his best-known works. Initially creating them from aluminum, wood and wool, Lalanne later expanded his practice to incorporate renderings in both stone and bronze. Beginning with a single sheep, the artist went on to fashion a full flock which he unveiled at the Salon de la Jeune Peinture in Paris in 1965. The artist recalled, "I wanted to create something very invasive because if you show small objects no one notices them. You have to go in with something out of the ordinary. The thought of a flock seemed to me to be a very peaceful idea. I thought that it would be funny to invade that big living room with a flock of sheep. Putting sheep in a Parisian apartment, it's a little like bringing the countryside to Paris. It is, after all, easier to have a sculpture in an apartment than to have a real sheep. And, it's even better if you can sit on it" (the artist in: Daniel Marchesseau, The Lalannes, Paris 1998, p. 36). The present works were created in 1988 and 2008 respectively. Elegant and distinctive, they are mature and confident examples by an artist created at the peak of his artistic practice.

Lalanne's sense of the surreal is palpable when displaying his fanastic beasts within domestic interiors, placing them at uncanny odds within their surroundings. The artist inverts the status quo by bringing the pastoral countryside, inside. A topsy-turvy, upside-down world view is created which extends to the entire environment that the sheep are placed within. However, this chaotic sense of the upside-down, is not only just an aesthetic choice, but an ideological one too. For Lalanne upturns the concept and hierarchy of fine art and design itself.

By employing a simple, domestic, everyday creature and holding it up as a sculptural masterpiece to be admired and revered, he demystifies our concept of fine art and challenges the way we view it. Remarking on his sheep, Lalanne acknowledged "just the fact that you can squat on it reduces the risk of this inappropriate devotion", (the artist quoted in: William Grimes, François-Xavier Lalanne, Sculptor of Surrealistic Animals, Is Dead at 81, www.nytimes.com, 13 December 2008). This playful vision is a joyful and mischievous wink to the viewer, which not only explores traditional artistic hierarchies, but also displays Lalanne's love of life and joie de vivre. His decision to center his practice on animals specifically also appears to be motivated by his desire for his creations to be democratic and open to all. Lalanne remarked "everyone can recognize animals throughout the world...you don't have to explain what they are or mean" (Ibid).

François-Xavier Lalanne's work is included in major collections including the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, the Museé d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, the City of Paris, the City of Santa Monica, and the City of Jerusalem. In 2009, a flock of Lalanne's sheep was showcased on New York City's Park Avenue, and his sheep were also the focus of the 2013 installation Getty Station, which saw twenty-five examples by the artist displayed in New York City's Chelsea arts district. François-Xavier Lalanne died in 2008, whle Claude sadly passed away in April 2019.