Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) is recognized
as one of the greatest European artists of the
20th century. The first showing of this modern
masters work in the state of Maine, Alberto
Giacometti features more than 50 works,
including sculpture, paintings, drawings, and
prints. This important exhibition is drawn
primarily from the collection of Herbert C. Lust,
who was a friend of the artist between 1949 and
1961, and is the author of a catalogue raisonn
of Giacomettis prints. Alberto Giacometti is on
view at the Portland Museum of Art from May 18
through September 4, 2000.
Alberto Giacometti includes 13 drawings,
ranging from precise and light-filled interiors to
the haunting stare of a masterful late drawing of
his brother and frequent model, Diego.
Lithography and etching became a natural
extension of his drawings. This vital component
of his art is represented with more than 30
prints, including an early Surrealist work, Mute,
Moving Objects (1931); late, piercing portraits
such as Buste II (1960) and Buste dhomme
(1964); and an important series of lithographic
views of his studio, produced in 1954.
Giacomettis painting is represented by two
works, Head and Still Life (both 1946), executed
during a crucial period in the development of his
late style. Also featured in the exhibition are
three sculptures from this period, the beautiful
and early Chignon Woman (1949), a memory
portrait of Giacomettis former lover, Isabel
Delmer; Bust of Diego (1961); and a 7-foot-tall
cast of the famous Walking Man I (1961).
Alberto Giacometti was born in Switzerland in
1901. His father, Giovanni, was a painter, and
Alberto displayed a precocious talent from an
early age. He trained first with his father then
briefly in Geneva before moving in 1922 to
Paris, where he would spend most of his life. He
gained fame as a Surrealist sculptor, producing
such ground-breaking works as The Palace at 4
a.m. (1932-33) and Woman with her Throat Cut
(1932) (both in the collection of The Museum of
Modern Art in New York), only to break with the
group when he decided to return to working with
the live model, a practice the Surrealists
abhorred. Obsessed with the idea of rendering
human forms as they are perceived in space,
Giacometti developed his signature style of
stark, attenuated human figures during the
1940s--creating the masterworks for which he is
best known today.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an
illustrated catalogue, which features a memoir
by Herbert Lust on his friendship with the artist.
Alberto Giacometti is made possible through the
generous support of Saco River Telegraph and
Telephone Company and an anonymous donor.
Related Links:
Alberto Giacometti http://www.artchive.com/artchive/G/giacometti.html
Portland Museum of Art
Portland, ME
USA United States of America