Fondation Giacometti

Having arrived in Chiavenna at the beginning of the 1940s as head of department at the local hospital, Serafino Corbetta became acquainted with Alberto Giacometti in the late 1950s, through a neighboring in Stampa. He became the personal doctor of Annetta, Giacometti's mother, but also a very close friend whose opinion Giacometti sought during the last difficult years of illness. A passionate collector, he received from the artist sculptures, paintings and drawings.

Corbetta was chosen by Alberto Giacometti as the subject for this portrait, completed in 1961 after several sittings in Stampa started at the end of the 1950s. Following the habit of the artist, the model is represented face on, his bust framed by a window, his gaze fixed, directed straight ahead. The background of the painting is grey, a single straight line on the top of his shoulder indicates the space in which he is situated.
Corbetta's figure is drawn in black, then coloured in ochre and grey; all around, quick brushstrokes mask the artist's retouches and modifications. Giacometti's attention is focused on the face, which occupies the centre of the painting. Quick grey, black and white strokes are used to give the model his expression, emphasizing his gaze.

Signed and dated by the artist, this painting was exhibited at Zurich Kunsthaus in 1962. Since then, it has been loaned for countless exhibitions in the 2000s.

Dated and signed on the recto, lower right "1961 Alberto Giacometti"

Serafino CORBETTA
Private collection (Italy)

1962 Alberto Giacometti, Zurich (Switzerland), Kunsthaus Zürich, from December 2nd 1962 to January 6th 1963, no. 151
1970 La scuola italiana di Parigi, Milan (Italy), Galleria Annunciata
1990 Ipotesi Helvetia. Un certo espressionismo, Ferrare (Italy), Gallerie Civiche d'arte Moderna
2000 Alberto Giacometti. Dialoghi con l'arte, Mendrisio (Switzerland), Museo d'arte, no. 123
2005 Alberto Giacometti. Percorsi lombardi, Sondrio (Italy), Museo Valtellinese di Storia e Arte, from January 20th to April 22nd 2005, no. 13
2010 Alberto Giacometti. Die Frau auf dem Wagen, Duisburg (Germany), Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, from January 31st to April 18th 2010
2011 Alberto Giacometti. L'anima del Novecento, Gallarate, Milan (Italy), Museo Arte Gallarate, from March 5th to June 5th 2011, no. 53
2012 Caravaggio Courbet Giacometti Bacon. Testori e la grande pittura europea. Miseri, Ravenne (Italy), Loggetta Lombardesca, from February 12th to June 17th 2012

Alberto Giacometti, Zurich : Kunsthaus, 1962, cat. no. 151
Giacometti, Rome : Editalia. Edizioni d'Italia, 1962, cat. no. 90
La Scuola Italiana du Parigi, Milan : Edizioni Annunciata, 1970
Alberto Giacometti. El diálogo con la historia del arte, Valence : IVAM. Centre Julio Gonzalez, 2000, cat. no. 123
Casimiro DI CRESCENZO, Simone SOLDINI (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti. Dialoghi con l'arte, Mendrisio : Museo d'arte, 2000, cat. no. 123, p. 186
Casimiro DI CRESCENZO, Franco MONTEFORTE, Alberto Giacometti. Percorsi Lombardi, Sondrio : Fondazione Gruppo Credito Valtellinese, 2005, cat. no. 13, p. 414, ill. p. 171
Véronique WIESINGER, Gottlieb LEINZ (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti. Die Frau auf dem Wagen, Munich : Hirmer Verlag, 2010, p. 199, pl. 173 & 199
Casimiro DI CRESCENZO, Zanella EMMA, Michael PEPPIATT, Alberto Giacometti. L'anima del Novecento, Gallarate, Milan : Fondazione Falleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Silvio Zanella, 2011 / Milan : Mondadori Electa S.p.A., 2011, cat. no. 53, p. 126, pl. 53, ill. p. 96
Claudio SPADONI (under the direction of), Caravaggio Courbet Giacometti Bacon. Testori e la grande pittura europea. Miseria e splendore della carne, Milan : Silvana Editoriale Spa, 2012, p. 234, ill. p. 237