Alberto Giacometti

1901 - 1966
Born in 1901, in Switzerland

Born in Borgonovo (Switzerland) on October 10, 1901, Alberto Giacometti, at an early age, was introduced to Post-Impressionism and Symbolism by his father, a painter. In 1919, he left school to study at the Fine Arts College of Geneva. He moved to France in 1922 where he studied the nude at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, sculpture with Antoine Bourdelle and often visited the Louvre.

Biography

His work brought him close to the post-Cubism movement (in particular, Le couple [The couple] (1926) and Femme Cuillère [Spoon Woman] (1927)), and then developed within the Surrealist group (the Boule suspendue [Suspended Ball] sculpture (1930), exhibited at Galerie Pierre alongside works by Joan Miró and Jean Arp, marked this turning point). In 1935, breaking away from avant-garde circles, he began to work exclusively on the living model.

During the World War II, in 1941 he returned to Switzerland where he met his future wife, Annette Arm, who became one of his favorite models. In the after-war period, he started to create new tall and spindly figures. In the 1950s, Giacometti’s reputation grew considerably. In 1956, he represented France at the Venice Biennale where he presented Femmes de Venise [Women of Venice] (he would later win the Biennale’s Grand Prix for Sculpture in 1962). Before leaving Paris for the last time in 1965, Giacometti made three portraits of photographer Eli Lotar, who became his final model. Giacometti died on January 11, 1966 at the Cantonal Hospital of Coire.

Bibliographic resources

Fritsch, Lenna ; Morris, Frances. Giacometti [exhibition, Tate Modern, London, 10 May - 10 September 2017]. London : Tate publishing, 2017.

Grenier, Catherine. Alberto Giacometti. Paris : Flammarion (Grandes biographies), 2017.

Bousteau, Fabrice ; Lequeux, Emmanuelle. Alberto Giacometti : Retrospective at Yuz Museum Shanghai. Issy-les-Moulineaux : Beaux Arts -TTM éd., 2016.

Isaku, Yanaihara ; Perrin, Véronique. Dialogues avec Giacometti. Paris : Allia, 2015.

Tosatto, Guy ; Wiesinger, Véronique. Alberto Giacometti : espace, tête, figure : [exposition, Grenoble, Musée de Grenoble, 9 mars-9 juin 2013]. Arles : Actes Sud ; Grenoble : Musée de Grenoble ; Paris : Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, 2013.

In The Collection

Paris sans fin, 1961

Alberto Giacometti

Trois hommes qui marchent I; Trois hommes qui marchent [grand plateau], 1948

Alberto Giacometti

Homme qui pointe, 1951

Alberto Giacometti

Buste d'homme (Lotar II), 1964

Alberto Giacometti

Grande Femme II, 1960

Alberto Giacometti

[Buste d'Homme assis (Lotar III)], 1965

Alberto Giacometti

Homme qui chavire, 1950

Alberto Giacometti

Tête sur tige, 1947

Alberto Giacometti

Femme de Venise III, 1957

Alberto Giacometti

Exhibition of the Collection

From 17 December 2014 to 18 May 2015

Expressionist and contemplative works

The second phase in the inaugural hang featured a larger number of works, based on the Expressionist and the Contemplative themes.

Exhibition of the Collection

From 11 April 2018 to 27 August 2018

In tune with the world

For the sixth selection of the Collection, the exhibition "In Tune with the World" unveils throughout the galleries of the Frank Gehry building a new choice of artists, of several different mediums, bringing together modern and contemporary works, most of which have never before been exhibited in these spaces.

Artists

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