François-Xavier Lalanne imagined a great alpine ibex, the ‘Grand Bouquetin’ in 1999, in
patinated or gilded bronze. The body of this extraordinary example is
gracefully elongated. In another elegant iteration, its head is mirrored
on the opposite side of the body to support the glass top of a console
table. The present ‘Grand Bouquetin’ stands out for its dynamic
silhouette with an impressive head turned backwards and curved horns
extending forwards. Its pricked ears and finely outlined almond-shaped
eyes are reminiscent of Egyptian profiles. The nostrils are subtly
delineated, its mouth is represented by a simple horizontal line and its
profile ends in an amusing goatee, jutting out like a comma. The rest
of the body is defined and rounded like a pommel horse, ending with a
small tail atop the hind legs. Nimble legs recall the animal's ability
to leap in the mountains, leaning his hooves on the slightest
protrusion. This agile ibex recalls the German Steinbock, the Occitan boc, and the steady-footed mountain goat.

Lalanne’s representation, however, is far from naturalistic. The artist chooses not to show the horn’s growth lines, which
typically reveal the age of an adult male. He concentrates instead on
their nodules which punctuate the two formidable scimitars. While a
lightly hatched surface suggests the texture of the ibex’s fur, here
Lalanne refrains from referencing the coat’s colours, unlike in the
representation of his dark-spotted leopard. Reminiscent of his master,
the sculptor Pompon, he conveys the ‘Grand Bouquetin’s character thanks
to striking details which places it definitively in the long litany of
creatures that punctuate the history of art and are as much a symbol of
sacrifice as they are reassuring and playful images: the Lamb of God
enthroned at the centre of the polyptych by the Van Eyck brothers
(1432), Youth with a Ram by Caravaggio (1602), the sacrificed lamb of Zurbaran’s Agnus Dei (1635-1640), followed by the more true-to-life sheep of Jean-François Millet's Shepherdess (1863) and those of the Pyrenees by Rosa Bonheur (1864), ending with the allegories of war with Picasso's Goat's skull on the Table
(1945) and the poignant sheep in formaldehyde by Damien Hirst (1995).
Throughout his career, François-Xavier Lalanne, independently or
together with his wife Claude, created a true menagerie which includes
fish and birds as well as mammals of all kinds. A rabbit with a fish
tail, a minotaur, a gorilla, a boar-topiary, a formidable cow. This
collective bestiary features characters fit for a fantastical tale. The
‘Grand Bouquetin’, who briskly turns his head as if surprised by an
unexpected sound can thus stand on par with the March Hare and the
Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.