Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966)

Torse de femme Unique cast 1948-49, from original plaster from 1932 Bronze, dark brown and black patina 26 ½ in (67cm) Inscribed: A. Giacometti Foundry cachet: Fondetta Artistica Ferrucio Bianchi, Venice

Alberto Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, Switzerland. The son of an established Post-Impressionist painter, Giacometti began drawing at an early age, defining his drawing style in his teen years. His formative years were spent studying painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and sculpture and drawing at the Ecole des Arts et Metiers in Geneva.

Upon moving to Paris in 1922 Giacometti turned to the avant-garde, experimenting with Cubist styles, looking to African and Classical art for inspiration, and exploring radical new forms of expression. By 1930 he had become an established figure in the Surrealist movement alongside Ernst, Miró, and Arp while his sculptural works delved into Freudian themes of sexuality, violence, fantasy, and the subconscious. His work of this time often exceeded the traditional parameters of sculpture incorporating plaster, glass, or wood into structures that seem perilously fragile and fraught with visual tension while betraying an enigmatic tranquility.

Giacometti's second distinguished period of creativity occurred in post-war Paris. His figures of men and women standing or walking, with elongated limbs, emaciated forms, and meticulously worked surfaces expressed the zeitgeist of isolation and despair that pulsed across post-war European cities. Surrealist heavyweight to paragon of post-war Existentialism, Giacometti's lasting impact on art of the 20th century is expressed in his extensive inclusion in many of the finest public and private collections of modern art.