Fondation Giacometti

The shape of this work is an extension of the cubist-influenced sculptures in the shape of plates with primitive and totemic influences that Giacometti was making in the years 1927-1928. While in the previous pieces the signs in relief made on the plates were very marked, here the relief is very subtle, made of light hollows, fine incisions and delicate curves. It is the light that animates the work, creating an ambiguity between the solid and the hollow following trails that sculptors were exploring at the time. The light sets in motion the figure of this “woman”, freer from influence in relation to another very similar sculpture made in 1928-1929. Commenting on a similar piece in “Cahiers d’art” in 1929, Christian Zervos contrasted it to the Cycladic plates, regretting: “if one were to suppress any part of Giacometti’s exhibited work, one would notice that that work would end up disorganised, by the very fact that its unity rests more on appearance than on qualities intrinsic to the art of sculpture.” This critical comment is on the contrary, a perfect summing up of Giacometti’s effort in condensing the figure and space that surround it in an indissoluble way. The first exhibition of this work, initially in plaster, is not known with any certainty. It was cast in bronze after the artist’s death. A marble was made before 1934, and the sculpture was cast in bronze after the artist’s death.

Signature and cast number engraved on the back, right "Alberto Giacometti / 2/6"

Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti

2009 Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY (United States Of America), Gagosian Gallery, from October 1st 2009 to April 1st 2010
2014 Giacometti, Milan (Italy), Galleria d'arte moderna, from October 8th 2014 to February 1st 2015
2016 Alberto Giacometti : In His Own Words. Sculptures 1925-34. (works from the years 1925-1936), London (United Kingdom), Luxembourg & Dayan, from February 1st to April 16th 2016
2016 Picasso-Giacomettii, Paris (France), Musée National Picasso, from October 4th 2016 to February 5th 2017
2017 Picasso-Giacometti at Doha, Doha (Qatar), Fire Station, from February 22nd to May 21st 2017
2019 Alberto Giacometti, d'après modèle, Albi , Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, from March 15th to June 30th 2019
2019 Genealogies of Art, or the History of Art as Visual Art., Madrid (Spain), Fundacion Juan March, from October 11th 2019 to January 13th 2020
2020 Rodin - Giacometti, Madrid (Spain), Fundación Mapfre, from February 6th to August 23rd 2020
2021 Idoles. L'art des Cyclades et de l'Anatolie à l'Age du bronze., Rodez (France), Musée Fenaille, from June 12th to October 17th 2021
2022 Alberto Giacometti Toward the ultimate figure. , Cleveland (United States Of America), Cleveland Museum of Art, from March 12th to June 12th 2022