In his native town of Agen, under the patronage of the mayor, Mr. Pierre Esquitol, Francois-Xavier Lalanne contributed some of his most important works to the collection of the local Beaux-Arts Museum. Soon after, in 1979, he created his first flock of “Moutons de Pierre” in aluminum and epoxy to be placed outdoors in the town’s collage square. This moment marked the beginning of the great adventure of “Moutons de Pierre” which, along with his series of woolen sheep, went on to become the artist’s hallmark work. 

A significant retrospective of Lalanne’s work took place in 1983 in the Château-Musée of Nemours. For the show, Francois-Xavier Lalanne decided to create two sheep, this time in more valuable bronze and epoxy, as the central works for the exhibition. The success of the “Moutons” series was assured and the following year he presented a dozen of them in the Christian Fayt Gallery. In 1985 the edition of 250 was launched. According to the archives, the first (number 1), of the bronze sheep was destroyed, and the next two that he created, numbers 2 and 3, are the sheep that we present now. Thus, our two “first” sheep acquire a special historical character, in light of the extraordinary future carrier of the artist. 

This iconic set of sheep is a perfect synthesis of Francois-Xavier Lalanne’s oeuvre. Ancient Egyptian influences mingle with those of the great sculptors of the 20th century, recalling artists such as Francois Pompon, Eduard-Marcel Sandoz and Constantin Brancusi. These amusing sheep exude humor and irony, while also embodying elegance in design, encapsulating the artist’s signature traits.