Christie's

Rhinocrétaire I, François-Xavier Lalanne, 1964
 

Our global campaign for the world-record-breaking sale of François-Xavier Lalanne’s Rhinocrétaire I (1964) was conceptualized to honor a historic monument in the extraordinary legacy of François-Xavier Lalanne while generating maximum global visibility, engagement, and anticipation for the auction.

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Leading the creative direction for all branding and marketing assets, Studio At Large crafted a campaign that honored Rhinocrétaire I not only as a pinnacle of Lalanne’s oeuvre but also as a defining moment in the art market. Rhinocrétaire I — first exhibited in June, 1964 at Jeanine de Goldschmidt's Galerie J. — was François-Xavier Lalanne’s first major sculpture and is significant for positioning François-Xavier Lalanne within the broader history of late Surrealism, aligning Lalanne with artists like Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst and “defin[ing] the quintessence of his poetic exuberance and preternatural inventions of the next forty-four years.” As one of the most significant works by Lalanne to ever come to market, the campaign positioned Rhinocrétaire I as not just an auction highlight but as a defining moment in the art world.

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A multi-platform approach spanning digital, social, and print was developed to engage collectors, art enthusiasts, and global media. The campaign’s visual identity balanced historical reverence with contemporary dynamism, ensuring that the narrative of Rhinocrétaire I’s significance was felt across every touchpoint. The result was an unprecedented success: a record-breaking sale that achieved more than three times the high estimate, reinforcing François-Xavier Lalanne’s enduring cultural and artistic significance.