What kind of background did Alberto Giacometti have?

Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, Switzerland, the eldest of four children of Giovanni Giacometti, a well-known post-Impressionist painter, and Annetta Giacometti-Stampa. He was a descendant of Protestant refugees escaping the inquisition. Coming from an artistic background, he was interested in art from an early age.

When did Alberto Giacometti first read de Sade?

Prompted by his friend André Breton, Alberto Giacometti first read de Sade in 1933, and his studio notes ruminated on seduction, idolatry, and fetishism. Support Hyperallergic’s independent arts journalism. Become a Member » Support Hyperallergic’s independent arts journalism.

What was the amount that Alberto Giacometti was ordered to pay?

Both were ordered to pay €850,000 to the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation. Regarding Giacometti’s sculptural technique and according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art: “The rough, eroded, heavily worked surfaces of Three Men Walking (II), 1949, typify his technique.

When did Alberto Giacometti get married to Annette Arm?

There, in 1946, he met Annette Arm, a secretary for the Red Cross. They married in 1949. After his marriage his tiny sculptures became larger, but the larger they grew, the thinner they became. For the remainder of Giacometti’s life, Annette was his main female model. His paintings underwent a parallel procedure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB3wUa2ISQo

He was a descendant of Protestant refugees escaping the inquisition. Coming from an artistic background, he was interested in art from an early age. Alberto attended the Geneva School of Fine Arts. His brothers Diego (1902–1985) and Bruno (1907–2012) would go on to become artists as well.

When did Alberto Giacometti start sculpting human heads?

Between 1936 and 1940, Giacometti concentrated his sculpting on the human head, focusing on the sitter’s gaze. He preferred models he was close to—his sister and the artist Isabel Rawsthorne (then known as Isabel Delmer).

Why did Alberto Giacometti create the Gazing Head?

And yet the underlying theme of the work, the act of gazing, invites viewers to ponder whether what they are looking at is in fact a mirror. When Gazing Head was first exhibited in Paris in 1929, it immediately grabbed the attention of the French Surrealists, beginning an association that would cement the early part of Giacometti’s career.

Why did Alberto Giacometti do the hands holding the void?

This confusion of categories has been said to encapsulate Bataille’s notion of informe, or formlessness. Hands Holding the Void illustrates how Giacometti started to stray from the Surrealists after his brief association with the group.