ID 832085
Lot 45 | François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008)
Estimate value
€ 1 500 000 – 2 500 000
'Gorille de sûreté II'
monogrammé 'FxL', signé 'LALANNE', numéroté '5/8' et daté '1996' (sur la partie intérieure du battant)
bronze doré, cuivre, acier et métal peint
155 x 103 x 95 cm.
Réalisé en 1996
monogrammed 'FxL', signed 'LALANNE', numbered '5/8' and dated '1996' (to the inner part of the panel)
gilt bronze, copper, steel and painted metal
61 x 40 1/2 x 37 1/2 in.
Executed in 1996
Provenance
Galerie Mitterand, Paris.
Collection particulière.
Literature
D. Marchesseau, Les Lalanne, Flammarion, Paris, 1998, (p. 87 pour le même modèle).
Claude et François-Xavier Lalanne, Fragments, catalogue d'exposition, Galerie Enrico Navarra-JGM. Galerie, Paris, avril-mai 2000, (p. 17, 63 pour le même modèle).
Les Lalanne, catalogue d'exposition, Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 17 mars-4 juillet 2010, (p. 64, 67 pour le même modèle).
François-Xavier Lalanne, Gourcuff-Gradenigo, Montreuil, 2018, (p. 49 pour le même modèle).
A. Dannatt, François-Xavier & Claude Lalanne In the Domain of Dreams, Rizzoli, New York, 2018, (p. 69 pour le même modèle).
Special notice
Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite").
If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
This item will be transferred to an offsite warehouse after the sale. Please refer to department for information about storage charges and collection
details.
Post lot text
Imaginé vers 1970 dans des dimensions impressionnantes, Gorille de sûreté est une œuvre sculpturale qui incarne l’originalité surréaliste et élégante de François-Xavier Lalanne.
Réalisé en 1996 en bronze à patine doré, ce gardien majestueux protège silencieusement son cœur d’acier : un coffre-fort. Animal dominant du bestiaire fantastique de François-Xavier Lalanne, cette œuvre illustre l’approche sémantique de l’artiste. À l’instar de Lewis Carroll, Vian, Apollinaire ou encore Quéneau, François-Xavier Lalanne donne forme au verbe pour révéler le fantasque : «(..) un coffre-fort en forme de gorille, vous pouvez le verrouiller en toute quiétude. » (John Russell cité dans les lalanne, catalogue d’exposition, Centre national d’art contemporain, Paris, 5 juin-13 juillet 1975, p.11).
Le motif animal s’inscrit comme un élément incontournable du vocabulaire de l’artiste, en effet le monde animal offre « un répertoire infini de formes liées à une symbolique universelle. Les enfants comme les adultes peuvent y être sensibles. » (François-Xavier Lalanne cité dans D. Marchesseau, Les Lalanne, Flammarion, Paris, 1998, p. 38). Alors, tout en faune, François-Xavier Lalanne sculpte le fantastique dans l’espace domestique et s’amuse à insuffler une dimension utilitaire à ses sculptures : Gorille de sûreté II allie sculpture réaliste et fonction secrète. À la fois pièce d’apparat et chambre forte, cette sentinelle incarne l’Œuvre singulière de l’artiste mêlant œuvre d’art et fonctionnalité.
Le trait est pensé, les pleins sont galbés, le bronze est dompté. L’équilibre des masses et la justesse des volumes fondent la recherche plastique de celui qui en 1949 s’installe impasse Ronsin à Montparnasse dans l’atelier voisin de Brancusi et dont les sculptures épurées traduisent aujourd’hui toute l’influence. La dignité hiératique et immuable de Gorille de sûreté II lui donne la prestance des sculptures égyptiennes. C’est au cours de la même année 1949 que François-Xavier Lalanne fréquente le département des antiquités orientales, il est alors gardien au Musée du Louvre. Passant des heures assis devant le Scribe accroupi, François-Xavier Lalanne apprend à lire une œuvre d’art. Inspiré par la statuaire antique des œuvres venues d’Egypte, de Rome et de Mésopotamie il développe les prémices de son vocable formel. Lalanne réalisera tout au long de sa carrière un large éventail de pièces inspirées de singes arboricoles et de gorilles : tantôt cheminée, luminaire, table ou sculpture.
Gorille de sûreté II réunit l’audace de l’artiste et la technique de l’artisan permettant à l’œil émerveillé de redécouvrir sans cesse l’univers enchanté de François-Xavier Lalanne : « François sait allier l’élégance du dessin à la rigueur des formes (..) Il rêve tout éveillé et nous convie à faire de même, devant sa sculpture terminée ». (Claude Lalanne)
Created around 1970 in impressive dimensions, Gorille de sûreté is a sculptural work that embodies François-Xavier Lalanne's surrealist and elegant originality.
Made in 1996 of bronze with a golden patina, this majestic guardian silently protects its steel heart: a safe. A dominant animal in François-Xavier Lalanne's fantasy bestiary, this work illustrates the artist's semantic approach. Like Lewis Carroll, Vian, Apollinaire and Quéneau, François-Xavier Lalanne gives form to the verb in order to reveal the fantastic: “(...) a safe in the shape of a gorilla, you can lock it with complete peace of mind” (John Russell quoted in the Les Lalanne, exhibition cat., Centre national d’art contemporain, Paris, 5 June-13 July 1975, p. 11).
The animal motif is an essential part of the artist's vocabulary, as the animal world offers “an infinite repertoire of shapes linked to a universal symbolism. Children and adults alike can be sensitive to it.” (François-Xavier Lalanne quoted in D. Marchesseau, Les Lalanne, Flammarion, Paris, 1998, p. 38). Thus, like an impish faun, François-Xavier Lalanne sculpts the fantastic within the domestic space and has fun infusing his sculptures with a utilitarian dimension: Gorille de sûreté II combines realistic sculpture and a secret function. Both a ceremonial piece and a vault, this imposing sentinel highlights the artist's singular work, combining art and functionality.
The line is well thought out, fullness is curved, bronze is tamed. The balance of the masses and the accuracy of the volumes are the basis for the plastic research of the artist. In 1949, he moved to the impasse Ronsin in Montparnasse, in the studio next to Brancusi's, and today his refined sculptures reflect all the influence. The hieratic and immutable dignity of Gorille de sûreté II conveys the imposing stature of Egyptian sculptures. During the same year of 1949, François-Xavier Lalanne visited the Department of Oriental Antiquities, while he was a working as a guard at the Louvre Museum. Sitting for hours in front of the Crouching Scribe, François-Xavier Lalanne learned to read a work of art. Inspired by the ancient statuary of Egypt, Rome and Mesopotamia, he developed the inception of his formal vocabulary. Throughout his career, Lalanne produced a wide range of pieces inspired by tree monkeys and gorillas: from fireplaces and lighting fixtures to tables and sculptures.
Gorille de sûreté II sets forth the artist's boldness and the craftsman's technique, allowing the amazed eye to rediscover François-Xavier Lalanne's enchanted world over and over again: “François knows how to combine the elegance of his drawings with the rigour of his shapes (...) He dreams eyes wide open and invites us to do the same in front of his finished sculpture.” (Claude Lalanne)
Artist: | François-Xavier Lalanne (1927 - 2008) |
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Place of origin: | Western Europe, France, Europe |
Category: | Chests |
Auction house category: | Furniture and Lamps, Cans |
Artist: | François-Xavier Lalanne (1927 - 2008) |
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Place of origin: | Western Europe, France, Europe |
Category: | Chests |
Auction house category: | Furniture and Lamps, Cans |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
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Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
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