Exhibited in Quinta Botanica, Jérome Jullien-Cornic’s paper tube house in Portugal designed by Shigeru Ban.
Created in 1968, a pivotal and intensely creative year for Lalanne, Serpent consists of five separate panels of oil on canvas, each housed in a freestanding wooden frame. The multiple elements of the box allow flexibility and movement in the presentation of the work, echoing the movement of its subject.
In 1968, François-Xavier Lalanne created a pair of fantastic snakes, a male and a female, in inverted colours. They were each executed in the form of a carpet, two unique pieces, the female, made in 1968, measuring almost 5 metres, and the male, measuring 7 metres, made in 1979.
The polyptych we are presenting here is a representation of the male snake, never before seen on the market, and always a unique piece.
Private European collection, acquired directly from the artist's family in the 1990s.