FRANÇOIS-XAVIER LALANNE | CAPRICORNE II

JGM Galerie, Paris

Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2008

Les Lalanne, exh. cat., JGM Galerie, Paris, 1994, p. 10 (for a variant of the model)

Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne, Fragments, exh. cat., Galerie Enrico Navarra and JGM Galerie, Paris, 2000, pp. 22-23 and 60 (for a variant of the model)

Reed Krakoff, Ben Brown and Paul Kasmin, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne, exh. cat., Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York and Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, 2006, p. 42 (for a variant of the model)

Paul Kasmin, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne, New York, 2012, n.p. (for a variant of the model)

François-Xavier Lalanne’s Capricorne II is a splendid addition to the artist’s menagerie and a rare sight at auction. With its elongated torso and smooth, stylized features, the creature is imbued with a sense of refinement and grace that is characteristic of Lalanne’s most successful works. Three versions of the Capricorne are known to have been produced throughout his career, each characterized by a different orientation of the head.  Capricorne I, the earliest iteration cast as early as 1988, faces forward; the head of Capricorn II, our present lot, is oriented backwards; and Capricorn III is turned sideways. Capricorne I was a centerpiece in the Lalanne living room and proudly guarded the fireplace (see previous spread), attesting to the significance of the model in the artist duo’s personal universe.