Fondation Giacometti

Annette Arm (1923-1993) met Giacometti in Geneva in 1942 and became his wife in 1949. From 1946, she joined Giacometti in Paris to live with him in rue Hippolyte-Maindron and stayed there until the end of the artist's life. Annette became one of Alberto's favourite models. The quantity of sculptures, paintings and drawings – whether portraits, nudes or studies – is only comparable to the quantity Alberto made of his brother Diego. This painting is part of a series of three busts made in Stampa in 1961.
In this portrait, Annette's face is coloured in grey, with black and white touches used to capture the details of the face. The model’s gaze with its eyes wide open, fixed straight ahead, reminds us of the frontal aspect of the Coptic funerary portraits that Giacometti much admired. The background is an ochre tone mixed with numerous brushstrokes in light and dark grey. A touch of colour is given with the model's red jacket. The pictorial space is defined by a frame drawn by the artist, under which his signature is added on the right. A grey border has been left around. This painting has been exhibited in Giacometti's lifetime at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York in 1961 and after his death in the retrospective at the Orangerie in 1969.

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

Pierre Matisse Gallery
Robert B. MAYER
Sale Christie's New York New York, NY, November 14th, 1989, lot n ° 84
Sale Sotheby's London London (United Kingdom), February 10th, 2011, lot n ° 9
Private collection

1961 Giacometti, New York, NY (United States Of America), Pierre Matisse Gallery, from 12th to December 30th 1961, no. 18 ou 19
1969 Alberto Giacometti, Paris (France), Orangerie des Tuileries, from October 15th 1969 to January 12th 1970, no. 192

The Financial Times, London, february 5th, 2011 - february 5th, 2011, p. 5, ill. p. 5
Judd TULLY, in Artinfo, New York, NY : Artinfo Louise Blouin Media, february 10th, 2011
The Financial Times, London, june 11th, 2011 - june 11th, 2011, p. 5, ill. p. 5
Giacometti, New York, NY : Pierre Matisse Gallery, 1961, cat. no. 18 ou 19
Jean LEYMARIE (under the direction of), Alberto Giacometti, Paris : Ministère d'Etat des Affaires culturelles. RMN, 1969, cat. no. 192
Alberto Giacometti, Lucerne : Kunstkreis, 1974, cat. no. 38, p. 89, pl. 38
Bernard LAMARCHE-VADEL, Alberto Giacometti, Paris : Nouvelles Editions Françaises, 1984, cat. no. 154, p. 108, pl. 154, ill. p. 109
Alberto Giacometti. 1901-1966, San Francisco, CA : San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1988, p. 222
Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculpture (Part I), New York, NY : Christie's New York, 1989, lot no. 84, p. 142, ill. p. 143
Looking Closely : A Private Collection, London : Sotheby's London, 2011, lot no. 9, p. 44, ill. p. 45