Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966)
See also : Top 10 Sculpture Bust Giacometti 1947-54 The Man The Woman
Chronology : 20th century 1940-1949 1947 1948 1950-1959 1952 1954 1955 1960-1969 1961
Chronology : 20th century 1940-1949 1947 1948 1950-1959 1952 1954 1955 1960-1969 1961
1947 The Primordial Trinity of Alberto Giacometti
2015 SOLD for $ 140M including premium
War is over. Alberto Giacometti appreciates that some new art is required and that his diminutive sculptures will not appeal anybody. His characters will be life-size. They will be threadlike as the floor lamps that the artist formerly conceived for Jean-Michel Frank.
Pierre Matisse is interested and promises to organize an exhibition in New York in January 1948 of this art which, in October 1947, does not yet exist. The works must be designed and the bronzes have to be melt. The artist is in a hurry. The meeting with the agents of the foundry is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Alberto is not ready.
He is not happy with his prototype and demolishes it. In a night of frenzied creation, he realizes L'Homme au doigt. When it is carried out for the factory, the plaster is achieved but it is still wet. Seven bronzes including an artist's proof are edited by the Alexis Rudier company.
The man points the finger to show the way to the other two sculptures in the trilogy, the walking man and the standing woman. This horizontal finger is a sign of authority, hope and renewal. L'Homme au doigt emits the founding message before disappearing from Alberto's creations, unlike the other two figures that will accompany his whole career.
The plaster was kneaded in a hurry, giving a tormented and scarred texture from which some observers said that L'Homme au doigt is Alberto's self portrait. One bronze, the number 6/6, was hand-painted by the artist. It strengthens the resemblance. The pointing man is not God between Adam and Eve, he is Alberto, the creative artist.
This number 6/6 178 cm high is the most outstanding piece of bronze by Alberto. It will be sold by Christie's on May 11 in New York, lot 29A. The press release of April 15 announced an estimate in the region of $ 130M.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
Pierre Matisse is interested and promises to organize an exhibition in New York in January 1948 of this art which, in October 1947, does not yet exist. The works must be designed and the bronzes have to be melt. The artist is in a hurry. The meeting with the agents of the foundry is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Alberto is not ready.
He is not happy with his prototype and demolishes it. In a night of frenzied creation, he realizes L'Homme au doigt. When it is carried out for the factory, the plaster is achieved but it is still wet. Seven bronzes including an artist's proof are edited by the Alexis Rudier company.
The man points the finger to show the way to the other two sculptures in the trilogy, the walking man and the standing woman. This horizontal finger is a sign of authority, hope and renewal. L'Homme au doigt emits the founding message before disappearing from Alberto's creations, unlike the other two figures that will accompany his whole career.
The plaster was kneaded in a hurry, giving a tormented and scarred texture from which some observers said that L'Homme au doigt is Alberto's self portrait. One bronze, the number 6/6, was hand-painted by the artist. It strengthens the resemblance. The pointing man is not God between Adam and Eve, he is Alberto, the creative artist.
This number 6/6 178 cm high is the most outstanding piece of bronze by Alberto. It will be sold by Christie's on May 11 in New York, lot 29A. The press release of April 15 announced an estimate in the region of $ 130M.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1948 And Alberto created Woman
2017 SOLD for £ 18M including premium
After the war Alberto Giacometti reinstalled himself in his Parisian studio which had been carefully maintained by Diego. His life is stabilized by his meeting with Annette. He wants to exhibit through his sculptures his own view about the human nature, close to Sartre's existentialism.
His threadlike characters are both fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.
Pierre Matisse is seduced but cannot wait. Alberto achieves in 1947 in a hurry which is not his usual practice his primordial trilogy dominated by the Man with the finger. The other two elements are the Walking man with his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future, and his opposite the everlasting Standing woman.
Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts. The attitude of the frail and stoic woman will remain unchanged throughout Alberto's career as if this perfectionist artist had at first found how to express the timeless woman. With her strictly joined legs she is inspired from the Egyptian anthropomorphic coffins. Gilt or perched on a chariot to be worshiped, she is the mother goddess of Alberto's surrealist pantheon.
On June 21 in London, Sotheby's sells Grande Figure, a bronze 1.30m high in a patina of dark gold color. Cast as a unique copy by the Alexis Rudier company in Paris in 1948 from a plaster dated 1947, it is one of the earliest large size examples of Alberto's standing woman. It is estimated £ 15M, lot 57.
His threadlike characters are both fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.
Pierre Matisse is seduced but cannot wait. Alberto achieves in 1947 in a hurry which is not his usual practice his primordial trilogy dominated by the Man with the finger. The other two elements are the Walking man with his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future, and his opposite the everlasting Standing woman.
Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts. The attitude of the frail and stoic woman will remain unchanged throughout Alberto's career as if this perfectionist artist had at first found how to express the timeless woman. With her strictly joined legs she is inspired from the Egyptian anthropomorphic coffins. Gilt or perched on a chariot to be worshiped, she is the mother goddess of Alberto's surrealist pantheon.
On June 21 in London, Sotheby's sells Grande Figure, a bronze 1.30m high in a patina of dark gold color. Cast as a unique copy by the Alexis Rudier company in Paris in 1948 from a plaster dated 1947, it is one of the earliest large size examples of Alberto's standing woman. It is estimated £ 15M, lot 57.
1951-1952 The Woman on the Chariot
2014 SOLD for $ 101M including premium
Alberto Giacometti had been close to the Surrealists. The theme of the woman on the chariot was inscribed in his mind from 1938. It remained therein for twelve years during which the artist tried a few tests, sometimes with rotating wheels.
In 1948, Alberto populates his universe with his wire-like characters who question the existentialism. Men walk with energy without knowing where they are going. In contrast, women are straight and motionless.
The woman is still an ancient idol whose authority may not be challenged. She brings peace and truth. In Alberto's dream, she is perched on a pedestal placed on the axle of an antique chariot with very high wheels. This is the great paradox of Giacometti: the motionless woman symbolizes the movement because she is worshiped on the chariot.
Alberto is a perfectionist. He waits until 1950 to execute his fantasy. Any detail is important, such as the tightly attached legs. The arms are away from the body in a gesture of glory or freedom, but the angle of the elbows disappears when the sculpture is viewed from front. The work is of medium size, 1.45 m high, because it must not be intimidating or diminutive.
The bronze cast in 1951-1952 is a technical feat by Alexis Rudier company. The number 2/6 is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, lot 25. This is an exceptional specimen by its golden patina that glorifies the subject and also because it has been carefully painted by the artist.
In the press release issued on October 3, Sotheby's compare the importance of this piece to the Walking Man which they sold for £ 65 million including premium on February 3, 2010.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
In 1948, Alberto populates his universe with his wire-like characters who question the existentialism. Men walk with energy without knowing where they are going. In contrast, women are straight and motionless.
The woman is still an ancient idol whose authority may not be challenged. She brings peace and truth. In Alberto's dream, she is perched on a pedestal placed on the axle of an antique chariot with very high wheels. This is the great paradox of Giacometti: the motionless woman symbolizes the movement because she is worshiped on the chariot.
Alberto is a perfectionist. He waits until 1950 to execute his fantasy. Any detail is important, such as the tightly attached legs. The arms are away from the body in a gesture of glory or freedom, but the angle of the elbows disappears when the sculpture is viewed from front. The work is of medium size, 1.45 m high, because it must not be intimidating or diminutive.
The bronze cast in 1951-1952 is a technical feat by Alexis Rudier company. The number 2/6 is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, lot 25. This is an exceptional specimen by its golden patina that glorifies the subject and also because it has been carefully painted by the artist.
In the press release issued on October 3, Sotheby's compare the importance of this piece to the Walking Man which they sold for £ 65 million including premium on February 3, 2010.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
1954 The Lines on Diego's Face
2013 SOLD 32.6 M$ including premium
The Giacometti brothers were inseparable, before the war, when they worked together for the decorator Jean-Michel Frank. Later, while Diego continues his career in furniture items, Alberto endeavours to express the mystery of man.
From that time the art of Alberto is double: he reached fame as a sculptor, but his paintings and drawings are similarly important to understand his creative act.
The drawing, in general, is an expression of spontaneity by the line. The paintings of Alberto are lines in oil on canvas, relentlessly modified with a range of brushes until he achieves the desired effect, usually in monochrome with a neutral background.
Now Alberto is a portraitist. Same as in his sculptures, he sees the head as the juxtaposition of organs, without giving an importance to the overall shape or even to the proportions. He explores one of the greatest mysteries: all men are similar, but each individual is recognizable.
Same as Francis Bacon later, Alberto can only work with people around him whom he perfectly knows. On November 5 in New York, Christie's sells a portrait of Diego painted in 1954, 81 x 65 cm, estimated $ 30M .
In this painting, the work of the line is intense and meticulous, just like Alberto was still exploring the features of his own graphic style. For once, he also allows the use of color by adding some red to the Scottish shirt of his brother.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait is very important for understanding the art of Alberto Giacometti. It was sold for $ 32.6 million including premium.
From that time the art of Alberto is double: he reached fame as a sculptor, but his paintings and drawings are similarly important to understand his creative act.
The drawing, in general, is an expression of spontaneity by the line. The paintings of Alberto are lines in oil on canvas, relentlessly modified with a range of brushes until he achieves the desired effect, usually in monochrome with a neutral background.
Now Alberto is a portraitist. Same as in his sculptures, he sees the head as the juxtaposition of organs, without giving an importance to the overall shape or even to the proportions. He explores one of the greatest mysteries: all men are similar, but each individual is recognizable.
Same as Francis Bacon later, Alberto can only work with people around him whom he perfectly knows. On November 5 in New York, Christie's sells a portrait of Diego painted in 1954, 81 x 65 cm, estimated $ 30M .
In this painting, the work of the line is intense and meticulous, just like Alberto was still exploring the features of his own graphic style. For once, he also allows the use of color by adding some red to the Scottish shirt of his brother.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait is very important for understanding the art of Alberto Giacometti. It was sold for $ 32.6 million including premium.
1955 Grande tête mince by Giacometti
2010 SOLD 53 M$ including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
The head and the bust, portrait or imaginary, with or without a base, is a major theme in the sculpture of Alberto Giacometti. This theme is interrupted when the artist reconstructs his universe with his existentialist triad in 1947, but returns beside the standing woman with La Cage in 1949. Inspired by his threadlike characters, he begins to reduce the width of the heads.
In 1954 Alberto refocuses on the portraits of his family and friends his sculpted and painted art. His brother Diego complacently becomes his preferred model. At the same time Alberto rediscovers his fascination for the famous bust of Nefertiti.
The graphic art of ancient Egypt used a flat profile figuration by which the two sides of the head cannot be seen simultaneously. A bust of Diego on a base, 38 cm high overall, is subtitled Amenophis. The head is a blade. On each side Alberto kneaded an Egyptian portrait of his brother. A bronze copy was sold by Sotheby's for £ 3.4M including premium on June 24, 2009.
At 65 cm high overall, Grande Tête Mince, also known as Grande Tête de Diego, will remain until 1960 the largest bust created by Alberto. Like Amenophis, it was designed in 1954 and edited in bronze by Susse in 1955.
Grande Tête Mince is the most daring of all compositions by Alberto. Since the two sides of the face are not seen simultaneously, they can be dissimilar. Indeed the portrait of Nefertiti has no pupil in the left eye, probably from its conception. Alberto's face is more wrinkled than Diego's. The left side is undoubtedly a portrait of Diego. The right side, kneaded in clay with deeper relief, could be a self-portrait of Alberto.
The bronze 3/6 of the Grande Tête Mince, with a dark brown patina, was sold for $ 53M including premium by Christie's on May 4, 2010, lot 13. The bronze 6/6 was sold for $ 50M including premium by Sotheby's on November 6, 2013.
In 1954 Alberto refocuses on the portraits of his family and friends his sculpted and painted art. His brother Diego complacently becomes his preferred model. At the same time Alberto rediscovers his fascination for the famous bust of Nefertiti.
The graphic art of ancient Egypt used a flat profile figuration by which the two sides of the head cannot be seen simultaneously. A bust of Diego on a base, 38 cm high overall, is subtitled Amenophis. The head is a blade. On each side Alberto kneaded an Egyptian portrait of his brother. A bronze copy was sold by Sotheby's for £ 3.4M including premium on June 24, 2009.
At 65 cm high overall, Grande Tête Mince, also known as Grande Tête de Diego, will remain until 1960 the largest bust created by Alberto. Like Amenophis, it was designed in 1954 and edited in bronze by Susse in 1955.
Grande Tête Mince is the most daring of all compositions by Alberto. Since the two sides of the face are not seen simultaneously, they can be dissimilar. Indeed the portrait of Nefertiti has no pupil in the left eye, probably from its conception. Alberto's face is more wrinkled than Diego's. The left side is undoubtedly a portrait of Diego. The right side, kneaded in clay with deeper relief, could be a self-portrait of Alberto.
The bronze 3/6 of the Grande Tête Mince, with a dark brown patina, was sold for $ 53M including premium by Christie's on May 4, 2010, lot 13. The bronze 6/6 was sold for $ 50M including premium by Sotheby's on November 6, 2013.
1955 Alberto and his Double
2013 SOLD 50 M$ including premium
Already famous for his threadlike sculpture of bodies, Alberto Giacometti wants to push further his research of total art. In 1954, in his kneaded statues, he breaks with the tradition of classical sculpture which had been a way to offer to the viewer a realistic three-dimensional vision of the selected theme.
He used to say that he did not make a difference between sculpture and drawing. He then takes as model only his family and close friends, especially his brother Diego younger than himself by only thirteen months. People outside his narrow circle would probably hardly support to be so scrutinized by this artist in search of a new ideal.
The tall thin head 65 cm high is the masterpiece from this series which was cast in bronze in 1955 by Susse. The head is reduced to a blade but the view of each profile is as realistic as a drawing, with the frank gaze and the mouth opened for speaking.
This step forward revolutionized the modern sculpture, but Alberto's view of art history went much farther up to the flat figures in ancient Egyptian art, as it is evidenced by another bust of Diego subtitled Amenophis in the same series.
The two brothers had a strong physical resemblance and there is no doubt that Alberto sought also to reach the truth about himself. He voluntarily maintained this ambiguity in an exhibition in 1962 when he chose to name this sculpture the Grande tête mince rather than Grande tête de Diego.
The bronze 3/6 of the Grande tête mince was sold for $ 53M including premium at Christie's on May 4, 2010. The serial number 6/6 is estimated $ 35M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 6. Here is the link to the catalog.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 50M including premium, is consistent with the price recorded on another copy in 2010.
Grande Tête Mince is a masterpiece of sculpture of the twentieth century. The assumption that one side is a portrait of Diego and the other side a self-portrait is fascinating and shows that this work will never deliver the whole of its mystery, the real mystery of mankind that is behind all Alberto's post-war art.
He used to say that he did not make a difference between sculpture and drawing. He then takes as model only his family and close friends, especially his brother Diego younger than himself by only thirteen months. People outside his narrow circle would probably hardly support to be so scrutinized by this artist in search of a new ideal.
The tall thin head 65 cm high is the masterpiece from this series which was cast in bronze in 1955 by Susse. The head is reduced to a blade but the view of each profile is as realistic as a drawing, with the frank gaze and the mouth opened for speaking.
This step forward revolutionized the modern sculpture, but Alberto's view of art history went much farther up to the flat figures in ancient Egyptian art, as it is evidenced by another bust of Diego subtitled Amenophis in the same series.
The two brothers had a strong physical resemblance and there is no doubt that Alberto sought also to reach the truth about himself. He voluntarily maintained this ambiguity in an exhibition in 1962 when he chose to name this sculpture the Grande tête mince rather than Grande tête de Diego.
The bronze 3/6 of the Grande tête mince was sold for $ 53M including premium at Christie's on May 4, 2010. The serial number 6/6 is estimated $ 35M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 6. Here is the link to the catalog.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 50M including premium, is consistent with the price recorded on another copy in 2010.
Grande Tête Mince is a masterpiece of sculpture of the twentieth century. The assumption that one side is a portrait of Diego and the other side a self-portrait is fascinating and shows that this work will never deliver the whole of its mystery, the real mystery of mankind that is behind all Alberto's post-war art.
1961 Man's Energy viewed by Giacometti
2010 SOLD 65 M£ including premium
The walking man is a favorite subject and perhaps also the most emblematic one in the sculpture work of Giacometti.
In 1960, for an order, the artist designs a life heighted walking man, 1.83 m. I dare not saying lifesize, because of its wiry structure. The symmetrical stride is a mark for energy, ambition and desire. The bronze provides an idea of solidity contradicted by the slender lines of the character. He comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. He is alone, as the "foreigner" of Camus.
The Homme Qui Marche I was edited in bronze the following year, 1961, by Susse in six numbered copies for trade and four artist's proofs. The serial number 2 / 6 is estimated £ 12 million, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 3. It is here, shared by AuctionPublicity.
The walking man is a close cousin to the Homme Qui Chavire (falling man), a copy of which was sold $ 19.3 million including premium by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, 2009. This one had the advantage of belonging to a period of great creativity by Giacometti (1951) but the disadvantage of being small (59 cm).
POST SALE COMMENT
All conditions were met for this sculpture to become the most important work of Giacometti at auction. It is an apotheosis for his art: £ 65 million including premium. It is a great price for a bronze: note that this version has been published in six numbered copies and four artist's proofs.
In 1960, for an order, the artist designs a life heighted walking man, 1.83 m. I dare not saying lifesize, because of its wiry structure. The symmetrical stride is a mark for energy, ambition and desire. The bronze provides an idea of solidity contradicted by the slender lines of the character. He comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. He is alone, as the "foreigner" of Camus.
The Homme Qui Marche I was edited in bronze the following year, 1961, by Susse in six numbered copies for trade and four artist's proofs. The serial number 2 / 6 is estimated £ 12 million, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 3. It is here, shared by AuctionPublicity.
The walking man is a close cousin to the Homme Qui Chavire (falling man), a copy of which was sold $ 19.3 million including premium by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, 2009. This one had the advantage of belonging to a period of great creativity by Giacometti (1951) but the disadvantage of being small (59 cm).
POST SALE COMMENT
All conditions were met for this sculpture to become the most important work of Giacometti at auction. It is an apotheosis for his art: £ 65 million including premium. It is a great price for a bronze: note that this version has been published in six numbered copies and four artist's proofs.
1961 Giacometti got his Place in New York
2008 SOLD 27.5 M$ including premium
Alberto Giacometti will be a must in the evening sales of modern art in New York, at Christie's on May 6 and Sotheby's on May 7. I wanted to limit me to bronzes, but it is not possible to omit an oil on canvas of 130x89 cm, a Portrait of Caroline, at Sotheby's for 10 M$ nor, in the same technique, a ghostly Standing man of 55x46 cm at Christie' s for 2,5 M$.
The two major lots will pass at Christie's. For each one, the estimate, "on request", lets await great flights. Place II is a major work, but of small size. Published in 1949, the best period of the artist, it is included in the category of the groups. On a 67 cm length base, one sees five typical Giacometti characters, including two which are walking according to the preferred figures of the artist, so spaced that each one is alone. It is a work more terrible than the Forest, with its strange character-trees unfortunately accompanied by an incongruous bust. Long time ago, May 7, 2002, a Forest made 12 M$ at Christie's in New York.
The market likes the big sizes. It will thus well be happy with another work with estimate on request of Christie's, a Grande femme debout II 2,74 m high edited in 1961. A Grande femme debout I had been worth 13 M$ at Christie's in New York on November 8, 2000.
To imagine with which height (in price) can go these two bronzes, let us note that a small-size Homme chavirant owed to its originality and its astonishing dynamics to go up to 18,5 M$ fees included in Christie's New York on May 9, 2007.
Sotheby's offers the choice between a Woman of Venice VIII of 1,22 m at 8 M$ and a Bust of Diego of 40 cm at 4 M$.
POST SALE COMMENT
The results are eloquent, Giacometti has really his place in New York... among the greats. Here are the results (fees included) of the six works which I had reviewed:
Bronzes:
Grande femme debout: 27,5 M$ at Christie's.
Place: 14,5 M$ at Christie's.
Woman of Venice: 10 M$ at Sotheby's.
Bust of Diego: 3,4 M$ at Sotheby's.
Paintings:
Caroline: 14,5 M$ at Sotheby's.
Standing man: 2,8 M$ at Christie's.
The two major lots will pass at Christie's. For each one, the estimate, "on request", lets await great flights. Place II is a major work, but of small size. Published in 1949, the best period of the artist, it is included in the category of the groups. On a 67 cm length base, one sees five typical Giacometti characters, including two which are walking according to the preferred figures of the artist, so spaced that each one is alone. It is a work more terrible than the Forest, with its strange character-trees unfortunately accompanied by an incongruous bust. Long time ago, May 7, 2002, a Forest made 12 M$ at Christie's in New York.
The market likes the big sizes. It will thus well be happy with another work with estimate on request of Christie's, a Grande femme debout II 2,74 m high edited in 1961. A Grande femme debout I had been worth 13 M$ at Christie's in New York on November 8, 2000.
To imagine with which height (in price) can go these two bronzes, let us note that a small-size Homme chavirant owed to its originality and its astonishing dynamics to go up to 18,5 M$ fees included in Christie's New York on May 9, 2007.
Sotheby's offers the choice between a Woman of Venice VIII of 1,22 m at 8 M$ and a Bust of Diego of 40 cm at 4 M$.
POST SALE COMMENT
The results are eloquent, Giacometti has really his place in New York... among the greats. Here are the results (fees included) of the six works which I had reviewed:
Bronzes:
Grande femme debout: 27,5 M$ at Christie's.
Place: 14,5 M$ at Christie's.
Woman of Venice: 10 M$ at Sotheby's.
Bust of Diego: 3,4 M$ at Sotheby's.
Paintings:
Caroline: 14,5 M$ at Sotheby's.
Standing man: 2,8 M$ at Christie's.
1964 The Art of Appearance
2015 SOLD for $ 21M including premium
Alberto Giacometti knew from Cézanne that an artist can not copy nature. Throughout his life he realized portraits on canvas of his friends and relatives, in which realism is dissolved in an ambience that must express the personality of the model.
For this reason, the portraits by Alberto are immaterial. He draws the faces within a pattern of lines. His feat is that the person remains recognizable. Later, Lucian Freud will manage a similar approach with his impasto layered on canvas throughout interminable sittings. Such portrait painters do not inspect the flesh but the appearance of the model, and through the appearance : the life.
In 1964, the portrait of James Lord is the last major oil painted by Giacometti. Lord was an art historian. He watched his friend and published in 1965 a small book detailing the gestation of that work.
The first few minutes are easy. Alberto wanted to make a sketch and it has some likeness. It is not complex enough and the painter adds some brushstrokes that annihilate the first effect. The result is not good. He must persevere.
This passion occupies 18 sessions, from 12 September to 1 October 1964 during which Lord takes each time the same position. Giacometti is trapped in his own creativity. It is altogether impossible to him to complete the work or to destroy it. The lull suddenly occurs during the 18th meeting. The master observes that the work remains improvable but that its quality has become acceptable.
The portrait of Lord by Giacometti, oil on canvas 116 x 81 cm, is estimated $ 22M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 9, lot 19A. I invite you to watch the very interesting video shared by Christie's, which includes comments attributed to the master in Lord's book and photos of intermediate states of the artwork that provide a remarkable insight into the feverish creativity of the artist.
For this reason, the portraits by Alberto are immaterial. He draws the faces within a pattern of lines. His feat is that the person remains recognizable. Later, Lucian Freud will manage a similar approach with his impasto layered on canvas throughout interminable sittings. Such portrait painters do not inspect the flesh but the appearance of the model, and through the appearance : the life.
In 1964, the portrait of James Lord is the last major oil painted by Giacometti. Lord was an art historian. He watched his friend and published in 1965 a small book detailing the gestation of that work.
The first few minutes are easy. Alberto wanted to make a sketch and it has some likeness. It is not complex enough and the painter adds some brushstrokes that annihilate the first effect. The result is not good. He must persevere.
This passion occupies 18 sessions, from 12 September to 1 October 1964 during which Lord takes each time the same position. Giacometti is trapped in his own creativity. It is altogether impossible to him to complete the work or to destroy it. The lull suddenly occurs during the 18th meeting. The master observes that the work remains improvable but that its quality has become acceptable.
The portrait of Lord by Giacometti, oil on canvas 116 x 81 cm, is estimated $ 22M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 9, lot 19A. I invite you to watch the very interesting video shared by Christie's, which includes comments attributed to the master in Lord's book and photos of intermediate states of the artwork that provide a remarkable insight into the feverish creativity of the artist.
1980-1981 A Ultimate Challenge to Giacometti
2017 SOLD for € 25M including premium
Alberto Giacometti was enthusiastic about the project of decoration of the plaza in front of the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York which was entrusted to him in 1958 and which could be the culmination of the artistic approach of his whole life. He will install his monumental sculptures according to the design of his Places I and II of 1948 simulating by scattered characters the buzzing activity of the city.
His figures will not be new : the walking man, the standing woman and the big head. Refusing obstinately the solution of a mechanical enlargement, he works to establish new proportions that will allow his statues not to be miniaturized by the 60 floors of the bank nor to seem huge to the passers-by.
Alberto does not yet know New York. After many trials in plaster and bronze, he is discouraged by his own belief of the gigantism of the city and renounces the project in 1960. He does not however scrap everything. Four Grande Femme Debout, two Homme qui marche and one Tête de Diego are preserved.
The Homme qui marche I in life size is hardly higher than the Homme au doigt from 1947 but it is one of the best symbols of the vision of the humanity by Giacometti. The bronze 2/6 edited by Susse in 1961 was sold for £ 65M including premium by Sotheby's on February 3, 2010.
The four women are of various heights. With her 2.75 m tall, the Grande Femme II is the giant who dominates the whole group. The number 1/6 cast by Susse in 1961 was sold for $ 27.5M including premium by Christie's on May 6, 2008.
This bronze, the highest ever made by the artist, is the subject of a posthumous re-edition in 1980-1981 also by Susse in seven copies plus two artist's proofs for Annette Giacometti and plus one for the Fondation Maeght. One of the épreuves d'artiste will be sold by Christie's in Paris on October 19, lot 8.
Alberto first visited New York City in October 1965. Suffering from cancer since 1963 he at last appreciated when it was too late how he could have integrated his ultimate work within Manhattan. He conceived an even taller sculpture and put Diego in charge of preparing the big frame but this project was stopped by his own death.
His figures will not be new : the walking man, the standing woman and the big head. Refusing obstinately the solution of a mechanical enlargement, he works to establish new proportions that will allow his statues not to be miniaturized by the 60 floors of the bank nor to seem huge to the passers-by.
Alberto does not yet know New York. After many trials in plaster and bronze, he is discouraged by his own belief of the gigantism of the city and renounces the project in 1960. He does not however scrap everything. Four Grande Femme Debout, two Homme qui marche and one Tête de Diego are preserved.
The Homme qui marche I in life size is hardly higher than the Homme au doigt from 1947 but it is one of the best symbols of the vision of the humanity by Giacometti. The bronze 2/6 edited by Susse in 1961 was sold for £ 65M including premium by Sotheby's on February 3, 2010.
The four women are of various heights. With her 2.75 m tall, the Grande Femme II is the giant who dominates the whole group. The number 1/6 cast by Susse in 1961 was sold for $ 27.5M including premium by Christie's on May 6, 2008.
This bronze, the highest ever made by the artist, is the subject of a posthumous re-edition in 1980-1981 also by Susse in seven copies plus two artist's proofs for Annette Giacometti and plus one for the Fondation Maeght. One of the épreuves d'artiste will be sold by Christie's in Paris on October 19, lot 8.
Alberto first visited New York City in October 1965. Suffering from cancer since 1963 he at last appreciated when it was too late how he could have integrated his ultimate work within Manhattan. He conceived an even taller sculpture and put Diego in charge of preparing the big frame but this project was stopped by his own death.
