OPTION TO COMBINE ALL SIX PREVIOUS LOTS. - Lot 607

OPTION TO COMBINE ALL SIX PREVIOUS LOTS. *Le Portrait de l’Infante* is a ballet created in 2008 by Thierry Malandain, inspired by the paintings of Velázquez—notably *Las Meninas*—and the music of Maurice Ravel. The project combines choreography by Thierry Malandain, sculptures by Manolo Valdés, sets and costumes by Jorge Gallardo, and lighting design by Jean-Claude Asquié. It draws on elements from Velázquez’s famous painting (dwarfs, dogs, horses) and myths such as The Punishment of Arachne, transposing them into dance movements. As part of the set design, Thierry Malandain commissioned three “Las Meninas” from sculptor Manolo Valdés, as a tribute to Velázquez’s masterpiece. The ballet explores the duality between reality and dreams, moving away from a literal representation to create a “faceless portrait,” evoking art as a mirror of identity. In 2005, thanks to Pierre Levai, director of the Marlborough Gallery, Thierry Malandain met Manolo Valdés in Biarritz. Both deeply steeped in art history—which they sought to reinterpret—they decided to collaborate. Manolo Valdés had been deeply influenced by a collector who one day recognized himself in a painting that “had no eyes, no mustache, no face—nothing.” This “widespread interest in assimilation” made a deep impression on Thierry Malandain, who wanted to use this image of Valdès’s Las Meninas to accompany his ballet. Three of these six sculptures were featured on stage during the performances. A set of six was needed for the tour. Five of the six sculptures are being offered at auction here. The show’s premiere took place on March 18, 2008, at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg. It then toured Russia (Yekaterinburg), Spain (San Sebastián, Zaragoza, Gijón, La Coruña), Italy (Bolzano), the U.S. (New York), Germany (Wiesbaden, Friedrichshafen, Neuss, Marburg), Canada (Quebec), and France (Paris, Biarritz, Vichy, Vélizy-Villacoublay, Angoulême, Reims, Elancourt, Mont-de-Marsan, Périgueux, Blagnac, Bezons, and Laval). Thierry Malandin served as the first director of the Centre Chorégraphique National Ballet Biarritz since its founding in 1998. The CCN Ballet Biarritz became the Malandain Ballet Biarritz in 2009. Choreographer Thierry Malandin was elected to the Académie Française on April 6, 2022. He is retiring this year after having made Biarritz a major center for dance and ballet in France, and is passing the torch to Martin Harriague.