Fondation Giacometti

The landscape is one of the recurrent subjects in Giacometti’s painting and one which he approached very early in his youth. After countless mountain landscapes, made especially before 1925, the gardens of Stampa are one of the most treated themes in the paintings of the artist’s mature years: the garden of the family house or what could be seen from his studio. The same view is for example recognizable in a series of very dark toned paintings made in 1952, even though on a stylistic level, the differences are very distinct from this later painting. Giacometti used here several colours – green, red, purple – all very delicate. More important than the colour, however, the black drawing comes out, quite visibly, as the real structure of the image. This gives the painting the lightness of a study, of a quick sketch, while keeping a strong and solid composition in terms of definition of volumes and space. Giacometti’s interest in Cézanne’s work, which had marked the artist since his youth and which he never stopped to question is quite visible in this painting: not only for the theme chosen, but also in its treatment. Signed and dated in the artist’s hand in 1959, this painting is very similar to two others from the same year, one also dated by the artist and dedicated to Silvio, Alberto’s nephew, son of his sister Ottilia. The viewpoint on the garden is not entirely the same in the three paintings, which look however similar in the colours, style and format of the canvas. This painting does not appear to have been exhibited in the artist’s lifetime.

Signed and dated at the bottom right corner "Alberto Giacometti 1959"

Annette GIACOMETTI
Succession Annette Giacometti
Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti

2006 Alberto Giacometti, Kamakura (Japan), The Museum of Modern Art, from June 3rd to July 30th 2006, no. IV-22
2006 Alberto Giacometti, Kobe (Japan), Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, from August 8th to October 1st 2006, no. IV-22
2006 Alberto Giacometti, Sakura (Japan), Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, from October 10th to December 3rd 2006, no. IV-22
2007 L'atelier d'Alberto Giacometti, Paris (France), Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, from October 15th 2007 to February 11th 2008, no. 40
2008 Alberto Giacometti, Rotterdam (Netherlands), Kunsthal, from October 18th 2008 to February 8th 2009, no. 137
2010 Giacometti in Switzerland, Geneva (Switzerland), Gagosian Gallery, from November 18th 2010 to March 5th 2011
2011 Alberto Giacometti. Una retrospectiva. Colección de la Fundación Alberto y Annette Giacometti, Malaga (Spain), Museo Picasso, from October 17th 2011 to February 5th 2012
2012 Alberto Giacometti. Coleção da Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris, Sao Paulo (Brazil), Pinacoteca do estado, from March 24th to June 17th 2012
2012 Alberto Giacometti. Coleção da Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Museu de Arte Moderna, from July 17th to September 16th 2012
2016 Alberto Giacometti retrospective at Yuz Museum, Shanghai (China), The Shanghai Yuz Museum, from March 22nd to July 31st 2016
2018 Alberto Giacometti Retrospective Québec, Quebec (Canada), Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec, from February 8th to May 13th 2018
2018 Giacometti Retrospective Guggenheim New York, New York, NY (United States Of America), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, from June 8th to September 12th 2018
2018 Giacometti Restrospective Bilbao, Bilbao (Spain), Guggenheim Museum, from October 19th 2018 to February 24th 2019
2019 Alberto Giacometti, D'après le modèle (Prague)., Prague (Czech Republic), Veletržní palác, from July 18th to December 1st 2019

Cristina TARDAGUILA, "A marcha de Giacometti", in O Globo, Rio de Janeiro, january 10th, 2012, ill. p. 1
Véronique WIESINGER, Toshio YAMANASHI (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti, Tokyo : The Tokyo Shimbun, 2006, cat. no. IV-22, p. 120, ill. p. 121
Véronique WIESINGER (under the direction of), L'atelier d'Alberto Giacometti, Paris : Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, 2007 / Paris : Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, 2007, cat. no. 40, p. 192, pl. 325, ill. p. 198
Véronique WIESINGER, Charlotte VAN LINGEN (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti, Harderwijk : D'jonge Hond, 2008, cat. no. 137, ill. p. 167
Véronique WIESINGER (under the direction of), Giacometti in Switzerland, Geneva : Gagosian Gallery, 2010, p. 48 & 90, ill. p. 49
Alberto Giacometti. Coleção da Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti Paris, Rio de Janeiro : Museu de Arte Moderna, 2012
Véronique WIESINGER (under the direction of), Giacometti, Sao Paulo : Cosac & Naify Ediçoes, 2012, ill. p. 196
Véronique WIESINGER (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti. A Retrospective, Barcelona : Ediciones Poligrafa, 2012 / Malaga : Museo Picasso, 2012, ill. p. 222
Véronique WIESINGER (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti. Una retrospectiva, Barcelona : Ediciones Poligrafa, 2012 / Malaga : Museo Picasso, 2012, ill. p. 222