'L'ANE DE POMPADOUR' DESIGNED 1973

Details

FRANCOIS-XAVIER LALANNE (1927-2008)
'L'ANE DE POMPADOUR' DESIGNED 1973
number one from an edition of eight, patinated bronze, leather, brass, horsehair
71 in. (180.4 cm.) high, 72 in. (182.9 cm.) wide, 18 in. (45.7 cm.) deep
signed fXL LALANNE 2000 1/8

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist;
Jean Gabriel Mitterand;
Private collection.

Further Details

François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, known individually and collectively since the 1960s as Les Lalannes, created imaginative sculptures inspired by the natural world. The familiar forms, whether an apple, giant hippo or donkey, springing naturally from the world are transformed from the ordinary to the surreal. At first glance, the Donkey, made from hand-hammered sheet metal, is the volume and size of a real donkey. It is a sturdy animal with leather reins patiently waiting for its master to arrive. However, upon closer examination, François -Xavier injects an element of surprise by having a side fold down to serve as a dumb waiter or desk and then attaching a horsehair tail to the metal body that reinforces the essence of the animal represented. By their ability to masterfully challenge conventional distinctions between fine and applied arts, between the purely expressive and functional, the Lalannes create a disconcerting yet seductive, warm and surprising world. The present example is number one from an edition of eight that has not been completed.

Lot Essay

cf. D. Marchesseau, The Lalannes, Paris, 1998, p. 101 for an example from 1973;
D. Abadie, Lalanne(s), Paris, 2008, p. 127 for another example from 1973, p. 325 for a view of the exhibition at Château Musée de Nemours, Nemours, 1983, including a donkey of this model;
Exhibition catalogue, Les Lalanne, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 2010, p. 80 for a donkey from the original edition shown in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs exhibition, pp. 86-87 for a donkey from the original edition.

More from Design

View All