Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966)
See also : Top 10 Sculpture Bust Giacometti 1947-53 The Man The Woman Femme debout
Chronology : 20th century 1940-1949 1947 1950-1959 1952 1954 1955 1960-1969 1960 1961 1965
Chronology : 20th century 1940-1949 1947 1950-1959 1952 1954 1955 1960-1969 1960 1961 1965
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 :
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.
1951-1952 Trois Hommes qui marchent
2022 SOLD for $ 30M by Sotheby's
The story told by Giacometti takes place immediately after the war, tentatively in 1945. He goes to the cinema in Montparnasse. On the boulevard, he sees men walking and women standing. Everyone knows the reason for his or her immediate action, which is not accessible to others. A crowd is a gathering of lonely characters. Alberto is no longer inspired by cinema, which is nothing more than a projection of light on a screen. He decides that his art will be closer to real life.
He creates his world in 1947 with characters as threadlike as the barrels of the lamps which he produced before the war for Frank. His seminal trinity includes the man with the finger who will never reappear, like the Godot of his friend Beckett.
From 1948 he tries some variations of attitude such as L'Homme qui marche sous la pluie or L'Homme qui chavire. They are as ephemeral as L'Homme au doigt, because they do not deal with the mystery of the solitude of the individual in the group.
In 1948 he positions together on a tray several copies of his walking man, like a child playing with toy soldiers. The Trois Hommes qui marchent are produced in two versions, identified I and II (grand plateau and petit plateau respectively). The three characters approach or move away from each other. Compared with the petit plateau, the grand plateau provides the illusion of an open and non claustrophobic scenery.
Beside Trois hommes qui marchent, La Place, featuring four walking men and a standing woman, is also prepared in two versions. The movements in La Place cease to be incoherent : a group is being formed. These four works provide the most genuine response to the artist's existentialist quest. In 1950 his creativity will be more fanciful, with the grouping of characters of various scales.
The bronzes of such difficult figures with several thin characters were feats by the Alexis Rudier foundry.
Trois Hommes qui marchent I, 72 cm high, was edited in six copies starting in 1950. The number 2/6, made in 1950 with a dark brown patina, was sold for £ 9.4M by Sotheby's on June 25, 2008 and for £ 11.3M by Christie's on February 5, 2020, lot 14.
The 4/6, cast in 1950 with a brown and gold patina, was sold for $ 11.5M by Christie's on November 6, 2008, lot 21.
The bronze 5/6 of Trois hommes qui marchent (grand plateau), 72 cm high, was cast in 1951. Damaged in October 1951 during its custom clearance in the USA. It was sent back to Giacometti who had it recast and hand painted it in 1952 in various tones as specified by its new owner David M. Solinger.
It was sold for $ 30M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2022, lot 8 in the auction of the Solinger collection. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
A bronze cast in 1948 of Trois Hommes qui marchent II, 76 cm high, was sold for £ 10.7M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2011.
He creates his world in 1947 with characters as threadlike as the barrels of the lamps which he produced before the war for Frank. His seminal trinity includes the man with the finger who will never reappear, like the Godot of his friend Beckett.
From 1948 he tries some variations of attitude such as L'Homme qui marche sous la pluie or L'Homme qui chavire. They are as ephemeral as L'Homme au doigt, because they do not deal with the mystery of the solitude of the individual in the group.
In 1948 he positions together on a tray several copies of his walking man, like a child playing with toy soldiers. The Trois Hommes qui marchent are produced in two versions, identified I and II (grand plateau and petit plateau respectively). The three characters approach or move away from each other. Compared with the petit plateau, the grand plateau provides the illusion of an open and non claustrophobic scenery.
Beside Trois hommes qui marchent, La Place, featuring four walking men and a standing woman, is also prepared in two versions. The movements in La Place cease to be incoherent : a group is being formed. These four works provide the most genuine response to the artist's existentialist quest. In 1950 his creativity will be more fanciful, with the grouping of characters of various scales.
The bronzes of such difficult figures with several thin characters were feats by the Alexis Rudier foundry.
Trois Hommes qui marchent I, 72 cm high, was edited in six copies starting in 1950. The number 2/6, made in 1950 with a dark brown patina, was sold for £ 9.4M by Sotheby's on June 25, 2008 and for £ 11.3M by Christie's on February 5, 2020, lot 14.
The 4/6, cast in 1950 with a brown and gold patina, was sold for $ 11.5M by Christie's on November 6, 2008, lot 21.
The bronze 5/6 of Trois hommes qui marchent (grand plateau), 72 cm high, was cast in 1951. Damaged in October 1951 during its custom clearance in the USA. It was sent back to Giacometti who had it recast and hand painted it in 1952 in various tones as specified by its new owner David M. Solinger.
It was sold for $ 30M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2022, lot 8 in the auction of the Solinger collection. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
A bronze cast in 1948 of Trois Hommes qui marchent II, 76 cm high, was sold for £ 10.7M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2011.
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.
1955 Femme qui marche
2022 SOLD for € 27M by Christie's
The post war masterpieces by Alberto Giacometti have their root in Surrealism. In 1932 he prepares a life size plaster of a headless Femme qui marche, without arms like a sort of fashion mannequin. He then uses it to try some surrealist figures by adding non human artifacts in the place of the missing limbs and head. Breton broke with Alberto in 1935.
That Femme qui marche is in a full nudity. The elongated profile with a leg slightly ahead of the other for walking may be a reminiscence of the antique Egyptian art. The smooth texture does not anticipate the hectic post war kneading. She is altogether a precursor of the femme debout, of the homme qui marche and of the woman on the chariot.
Four bronzes plus one artist's proof of that seminal Femme qui marche (I) 150 cm high were cast in 1955 in an english foundry at the request of a gallery owner in London. The number III/IV, 150 cm high with a dark brown patina, was sold for € 27M by Christie's on June 14, 2022, lot 20 in the sale of the Givenchy collection.
That Femme qui marche is in a full nudity. The elongated profile with a leg slightly ahead of the other for walking may be a reminiscence of the antique Egyptian art. The smooth texture does not anticipate the hectic post war kneading. She is altogether a precursor of the femme debout, of the homme qui marche and of the woman on the chariot.
Four bronzes plus one artist's proof of that seminal Femme qui marche (I) 150 cm high were cast in 1955 in an english foundry at the request of a gallery owner in London. The number III/IV, 150 cm high with a dark brown patina, was sold for € 27M by Christie's on June 14, 2022, lot 20 in the sale of the Givenchy collection.
1960 Femme Leoni
2023 SOLD for $ 28.5M by Sotheby's
An unused plaster surfaced in 1956 in an exhibition in Bern alongside several Femmes de Venise. The woman is standing straight on an inclined plan, her legs and feet together, inspired by antique Egyptian female deities. She is near life size in height.
It is a portrait of Isabel Nicholas prepared in 1947 beside the life size Homme au doigt.
Isabel Nicholas, who became Isabel Rawsthorne by her third marriage in 1954, was an artist. Sexually liberated in the wake of the existentialism, she was the muse and lover of Alberto Giacometti just before and just after the Second World War and contributed to the development of the new artistic style emphasizing the psychological expression for superseding the figurative realism.
This model was edited in 1957 after a rework of the feet by Alberto to improve stability. The first bronze had been commissioned by Peggy Guggenheim for her Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice and supplied to her in November 1957. It was titled Femme Leoni by the artist. This bronze is not numbered.
A bronze numbered 3/6 cast ca 1958 by Susse was sold for $ 26M by Sotheby's on October 28, 2020, lot 112. Its height is 165 cm including the artist's base.
The number 6/6 of the Femme Leoni was cast by Susse in 1960. It is 153 cm high and does not have a base below the inclined plane. It was sold for $ 28.5M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2023, lot 129.
It is a portrait of Isabel Nicholas prepared in 1947 beside the life size Homme au doigt.
Isabel Nicholas, who became Isabel Rawsthorne by her third marriage in 1954, was an artist. Sexually liberated in the wake of the existentialism, she was the muse and lover of Alberto Giacometti just before and just after the Second World War and contributed to the development of the new artistic style emphasizing the psychological expression for superseding the figurative realism.
This model was edited in 1957 after a rework of the feet by Alberto to improve stability. The first bronze had been commissioned by Peggy Guggenheim for her Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice and supplied to her in November 1957. It was titled Femme Leoni by the artist. This bronze is not numbered.
A bronze numbered 3/6 cast ca 1958 by Susse was sold for $ 26M by Sotheby's on October 28, 2020, lot 112. Its height is 165 cm including the artist's base.
The number 6/6 of the Femme Leoni was cast by Susse in 1960. It is 153 cm high and does not have a base below the inclined plane. It was sold for $ 28.5M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2023, lot 129.
L'Homme qui marche
2010 SOLD for £ 65M by Sotheby's
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 his artistic approach 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 1.83 m high is hardly higher than the Homme au doigt from 1947 but it remains one of the best symbols of the vision of the humanity by Giacometti.
The walking man is the most emblematic conception by Giacometti. 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.
It 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 was sold for £ 65M from a lower estimate of £ 12M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2010. It is illustrated in an article shared by AuctionPublicity.
With her 2.75 m tall, the Grande Femme Debout II is the giant who dominates the whole group of the 1960 project for the New York piaza. The number 1/6 cast by Susse in 1961 was sold for $ 27.5M by Christie's on May 6, 2008, lot 36.
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 1.83 m high is hardly higher than the Homme au doigt from 1947 but it remains one of the best symbols of the vision of the humanity by Giacometti.
The walking man is the most emblematic conception by Giacometti. 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.
It 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 was sold for £ 65M from a lower estimate of £ 12M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2010. It is illustrated in an article shared by AuctionPublicity.
With her 2.75 m tall, the Grande Femme Debout II is the giant who dominates the whole group of the 1960 project for the New York piaza. The number 1/6 cast by Susse in 1961 was sold for $ 27.5M by Christie's on May 6, 2008, lot 36.
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.
1965 Le Nez
2021 SOLD for $ 78M by Sotheby's
In his post war nightmares and hallucinations, Alberto Giacometti lost the discrimination between the living and the dead. He is a sculptor : in 1947 he manages to immobilize this ambiguity in plasters. Fragmenting the human organs, he conceives Le Nez, La Main and Tête sur tige. Questioning the beyond in the same year, he creates his existentialist trinity led by L'Homme au doigt.
Le Nez is a full head hanging to a rope within a cage, so that it cannot be perceived as a mere bust. The threadlike posts and bars of the cage are similar as those conceived by him is the 1930s for staging Surrealist figures. Such an existentialist expression of human forms in a cage had a decisive influence on Francis Bacon.
The narwhal tooth shaped straight nose extends far beyond the volume of the cage, providing a fake liberty to the encaged figure. The mouth is wide open for a scream. The very first plaster also had a red painted tongue and a spiral red clown wrap around the nose.
There is no doubt that the fragile balance of Le Nez was very difficult to transfer to bronze. That was done in 1965 by Susse in an edition of 6 plus 2 additional proofs. The head is cast from a replica of the 1949 plaster while the cage had been narrowed in the previous year for a more protruding effect of the nose. The cage is 81 cm high. Small roundels under the four posts assure a stability to that fragile piece.
The number 6/6 was sold for $ 78M by Sotheby's on November 15, 2021, lot 14.
Le Nez is a full head hanging to a rope within a cage, so that it cannot be perceived as a mere bust. The threadlike posts and bars of the cage are similar as those conceived by him is the 1930s for staging Surrealist figures. Such an existentialist expression of human forms in a cage had a decisive influence on Francis Bacon.
The narwhal tooth shaped straight nose extends far beyond the volume of the cage, providing a fake liberty to the encaged figure. The mouth is wide open for a scream. The very first plaster also had a red painted tongue and a spiral red clown wrap around the nose.
There is no doubt that the fragile balance of Le Nez was very difficult to transfer to bronze. That was done in 1965 by Susse in an edition of 6 plus 2 additional proofs. The head is cast from a replica of the 1949 plaster while the cage had been narrowed in the previous year for a more protruding effect of the nose. The cage is 81 cm high. Small roundels under the four posts assure a stability to that fragile piece.
The number 6/6 was sold for $ 78M by Sotheby's on November 15, 2021, lot 14.
