Fondation Giacometti

This drawing evokes, in a few ink strokes, a plaster sculpture, “Buste de Diego au col roulé”, executed in 1951 but reworked several times afterwards. The plaster remained for a while in a prominent place on a small piece of furniture in the sculptor’s studio and it figures on several photographs of that period. The drawing enabled the artist to see his own sculpture better. Giacometti often depicted his works in his studio, in drawing, but also in lithographs. In 1951, he made a series of lithographs, published in 1951 and 1954 by the gallery owner Aimé Maeght. The model for this sculpture is Diego, the artist’s brother (born in 1901) who, with Alberto’s wife Annette, was the artist’s main model. A few strokes suffice to fix the outlines of the bust, while a big frame, that follows the edges of the sheet of Rives vellum paper, is reminiscent of the big frames in which Giacometti’s lithographs were placed at that time. On the drawing one can see the underlining of the lips and the eyelids, executed with a paintbrush on a plaster of the same era, today kept at the Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung (Zurich). We are aware of several similar drawings, among them some dating from 1952 and others from 1953 (AGD 15 and AGD 608). This drawing was neither exhibited nor reproduced in the artist’s lifetime.

Signed with a pencil at the bottom right corner "Alberto Giacometti"

Private collection