Claude Lalanne's Ensemble of 15 Mirrors recently sold for $33.5 million at Sotheby's. This set a new record for the highest price ever paid for a design work at auction.
French designer Yves Saint Laurent originally commissioned these mirrors. They were made for the music room in his Paris apartment, which he shared with Pierre Bergé. The mirrors are crafted from gilt bronze and galvanized copper. Their design was inspired by plants from Lalanne's own garden.
Edith Dicconson, founder of Dicconson Fine Art advisory, noted the mirrors' significance. She told The Art Newspaper that they are "arguably the most important ensemble of mirrors ever conceived as a unified interior" outside of Versailles.
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Start Your News DetoxThe Artist Behind the Record
Lalanne was a French sculptor and designer who lived from the 1920s to 2019. She often worked with her husband, François-Xavier Lalanne. They were known as "Les Lalanne." Their art blended elements of Art Nouveau, Surrealism, and nature.
Claude Lalanne's work often featured plants and animals. Her husband, François-Xavier, was known for animal sculptures, like his golden rhinoceros at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Both artists focused on functional art, creating pieces that could also serve as furniture.
Les Lalanne's art is often playful. For example, Claude Lalanne created L’Homme à la Tête de Chou (The Man with the Cabbage Head) in 1968. This sculpture humorously depicts a man with a cabbage for a head. French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg featured it on his album cover of the same name.
Another of Claude Lalanne's works, La Pomme de New York, is an eight-foot-tall golden apple sculpture. It sold for about $7 million at Christie’s in April.
Mirrors became a key part of Claude Lalanne's career. These objects are both functional and beautiful. They carry symbolism of reflection and perspective. Mirrors have been art pieces since ancient times, first made from polished copper, then glass.
Flat, silvered mirrors originated from Venetian glass studios. In art, mirrors can represent truth, purity, and perception. They can also symbolize vanity and illusion.
The reflective quality of mirrors adds an unpredictable dimension to art. Light changes how they appear. For the Ensemble of 15 Mirrors, Sotheby's stated that "light, architecture, and sculpture become inseparable, each activating the other."
Jodi Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman of major collections, called these mirrors Lalanne's "magnum opus." She told Galerie that they "established a defining hallmark of her oeuvre."
A Historic Sale
The mirrors were part of an auction featuring about 125 artworks. These pieces came from the collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzberg. Terry de Gunzberg was a creative director for Yves Saint Laurent’s beauty brand. The auction also included works by André Groult, Jean-Michel Frank, and Alberto Giacometti.
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs held a retrospective exhibition of Les Lalanne's work in 2010. After both artists passed away, their family donated some sculptures and drawings to France. This was done in place of paying taxes, a method also used by Picasso's heirs to create the Musée Picasso.
Deep Dive & References
An Important and Unique Ensemble of Mirrors for Yves Saint Laurent - Sotheby's Claude Lalanne mirrors shatter records at Sotheby’s auction in New York - The Art Newspaper, 2026 Claude Lalanne’s Mirrors Set Auction Record in Collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzburg Sale - Galerie, 2026 The Hall of Mirrors - Château de Versailles Mirrors - Fitzwilliam Museum
