Jean Marquis, Alberto Giacometti dans l'atelier, 1965, coll.Fondation Giacometti
© Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti, Paris et ADAGP, Paris)
© Jean Marquis

The Institute

Studio

The Studio

Fondation Giacometti -  The Studio

Symbol of post-war Parisian artistic life, Alberto Giacometti's studio is inseparable from the legend of the artist. 

The Giacometti Institute will permanently present an exceptional reconstruction of the studio of Alberto Giacometti, whose elements were conserved in their entirety by his widow, Annette Giacometti. Among these elements are some very fragile artworks in plaster and clay (some of which have never been shown to the public), his furniture, and the renowned murals painted by the artist. The reconstruction of Alberto Giacometti’s studio is spectacularly staged, through an ingenious architectural layout comprising tiered seating and ultra-transparent window elements, creating rare proximity with the works. 

The Giacometti studio gradually became not only the world of the artist’s work, but a veritable extension of himself. Giacometti has regularly cited the essential nature of his studio, a legendary place that has remained within the collective memory as the symbol of the artistic life of the Montparnasse neighbourhood. Inseparable from the artist’s legend, the studio is necessary for an understanding of his work. The walls, covered with drawings, bore witness to the artist’s work for forty years and contain precious notes on his creative process.

The reconstruction of this site immortalised by the great photographers such as Robert Doisneau, Sabine Weiss, Gordon Parks, or Ernst Scheidegger, was made possible through extensive conservation and restoration campaigns undertaken by the Giacometti Foundation.

In order to be faithful to the original site while responding to conservation and public display imperatives, the reconstruction of the studio required significant multi-phase work: verification and inventory of the elements conserved in the Foundation’s collection, preventive conservation studies, restoration of all of the items for display, scenography, and lighting design.

Most of the artworks, too fragile to be transported, have never been shown to the public.
The permanent reconstruction of the studio will thus enable a significant part of French artistic heritage to finally become accessible.

Over seventy sculptures will be presented, mainly in plaster or bronze, and including the very last clay artworks that the artists was working on prior to his death.

10 Apr 2018

PHOTOGRAPHS

29 May 2018

RECONSTRUCTION

To search for a work, consult the Alberto Giacometti Database