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Vierge à L'Enfant is an intimate group celebrating connection and affection. The Virgin looking at her infant whilst the baby reciprocates touching her arm and hand.
Rather than being a design in low relief, this piece is intaglio. The front is smooth polished glass, while the back is concave and frosted so that the figures are distinguished by the play of light across the surfaces.
Stylistically the Vierge à L'Enfant is Art Deco. There is an emphasis on geometric form, lines and a simplification that means superfluous details have been eliminated. The group has much in common with Christ the Redeemer by Paul Landowski that towers over Rio De Janeiro in Brazil which was completed just 3 years prior to Lalique’s design. The elongation of the figures occurs from the waist down and the drapery is dense with vertical folds.
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Lalique’s work was designed in the same year that Lady Trent – Florence Trent was the widow of Jesse Boot, of Boots the chemists - commissioned René Lalique to renovate St Matthew’s church in Jersey. Today St Matthew’s remains a sublime work of art, a unique monument to the talents of Lalique.
Lyon & Turnbull’s Design Department is delighted to have introduced Lalique as a new biannual sale category in April 2021. No other auction house offers specialist sales devoted entirely to the work of René Lalique.
Senior Specialist, Joy McCall heads these sales as she previously did at Christie’s, London for many years. She has over 25 years of experience selling Lalique and brings to the process her knowledge and expertise together with a personal passion for the subject.
0207 930 9115
joy.mccall@lyonandturnbull.com