Background
Born in London as the son of a Belgian diplomat and an English aristocrat, Lalaing was raised in England until 1875, when he moved to Brussels.
Born in London as the son of a Belgian diplomat and an English aristocrat, Lalaing was raised in England until 1875, when he moved to Brussels.
He trained as an artist under Jean-François Portaels and Louis Gallait at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, showing first as a painter with the group L"Essor. With the encouragement of Thomas Vinçotte and Jef Lambeaux, Lalaing began to sculpt in 1884. As a painter he continued to work in a realistic, naturalistic style, as a portrait painter and producing historical scenes.
As a sculptor he produced allegorical bronzes and memorial art
Along with his fellow animalier sculptors Léon Mignon (1847–1898) and Antoine-Félix Bouré (1831–1883), Lalaing established a distinctively Belgian tradition of animal art, to which the flourishing Antwerp Zoo contributed inspiration.
In 1896 Lalaing became a member of the Royal Academy where he"d studied, and from 1904 through 1913 he served as its director
