Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti, Annette, from Prints from the Mourlot Press, 1964

1964

This exquisite lithograph by Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966), titled Buste II (Bust II), originates from the 1960 folio Derriere le Miroir, No. 119, Poetes, peintres, sculpteurs (Poet...

This exquisite lithograph by Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966), titled Georges Braque le 31 aout 1963 (Georges Braque, August 31, 1963), originates from the 1964 folio Derriere le Miroi...

Etching on vélin cuve de Rives paper. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good condition. Notes: From the folio, Feuilles éparses, 1965. Published and printed by Louis B...

This exquisite etching after Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966), titled Annette de Face (Annette, Frontal View), from the folio Derriere le miroir, 10 Ans d'Edition 1946-1956, No. 92-93, originates from the 1956 edition published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, and printed by Atelier Crommelynck, Paris, 1956. This work exemplifies Giacometti’s mastery of line and existential sensitivity, capturing the haunting stillness and psychological intensity of his wife and muse, Annette. Executed as an etching, cuivre rayé apres tirage on velin paper, this work measures 15 x 11 inches overall; 8.07 x 2.28 inches image size. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the superb craftsmanship of Atelier Crommelynck, Paris. Artwork Details: Artist: After Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) Title: Annette de Face (Annette, Frontal View), from the folio Derriere le miroir, 10 Ans d'Edition 1946-1956, No. 92-93 Medium: Etching, cuivre rayé apres tirage on velin paper Dimensions: 15 x 11 inches, overall; 8.07 x 2.28 inches, image size (38.1 x 27.94 cm; 20.5 x 5.8 cm) Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued Date: 1956 Publisher: Maeght Editeur, Paris Printer: Atelier Crommelynck, Paris Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Provenance: From the folio Derriere le miroir, 10 Ans d'Edition 1946-1956, No. 92-93, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris; printed by Atelier Crommelynck, Paris, 1956 Notes: Excerpted from the folio (translated from French), This catalogue, forming a special issue of Derriere le miroir, was completed in October 1956 on the presses of Draeger Freres on behalf of Aime Maeght, Editeur. The original lithographs of Miro, Chagall and Bazaine were shot by Mourlot Freres. The eaux-fortes rayees of Miro and Giacometti were shot by Crommelynck. Raoul Ubac composed and pulled the engraved wood from the cover. The photographs of Braque's reproduced works are by Mr. Routhier. Those of the other artists of Y. Hervochon. About the Publication: Derriere le miroir (Behind the Mirror) was one of the most important art publications of the 20th century, created and published by Maeght Editeur in Paris from 1946 to 1982. Founded by the visionary art dealer and publisher Aime Maeght, the series served as both an exhibition catalogue and a work of art in its own right, uniting original lithographs by leading modern and contemporary artists with critical essays, poetry, and design of the highest quality. Printed by master lithographers such as Mourlot Freres and Arte, Derriere le miroir became synonymous with the artistic vanguard of postwar Europe. Each issue was devoted to a single artist or theme and published to accompany exhibitions at the Galerie Maeght in Paris, featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Fernand Leger, and Alberto Giacometti, among others. The publication reflected Maeght's belief that art should be both accessible and elevated—an ideal realized through its luxurious production values, meticulous printing, and collaboration with the greatest creative minds of its time. About the Artist: Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, and draughtsman whose hauntingly elongated figures and existential vision redefined modern art and made him one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Born in Borgonovo, Switzerland, into an artistic family—his father, Giovanni Giacometti, was a noted Post-Impressionist—he was immersed in art from an early age before studying in Geneva and moving to Paris in 1922, where he became part of the city’s avant-garde alongside Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray. In the 1920s and 1930s, Giacometti explored Cubism and Surrealism, creating symbolic and dreamlike sculptures such as Suspended Ball (1930–31) and The Palace at 4 A.M. (1932), which reflected the influence of Dali, Duchamp, and Man Ray. By the 1940s, he abandoned Surrealism to pursue a deeply personal exploration of the human condition, developing his iconic attenuated figures that embodied both fragility and resilience. His signature sculptures—L’Homme qui marche I (Walking Man I), Femme debout, and Le Chariot—expressed the isolation, endurance, and vulnerability of modern existence, echoing the existential philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Giacometti’s figures, stripped of mass yet monumental in spirit, symbolized humanity’s search for meaning in a postwar world, while his paintings and drawings—portraits of his brother Diego, his wife Annette, and his friends—captured the psychological depth of perception with trembling, repetitive lines that blurred the boundary between body and soul. His friendships with Picasso, Calder, Miro, and Kandinsky shaped his understanding of form, motion, and space, while his philosophical engagement with Duchamp and Man Ray deepened his inquiry into the nature of reality and perception. Working obsessively in his modest Montparnasse studio, Giacometti pursued art as an existential act—destroying and rebuilding his figures in an endless search for truth. His influence on postwar art was immense, shaping the work of Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Lucian Freud, and later contemporary sculptors such as Antony Gormley and Anselm Kiefer. His aesthetic also resonated beyond sculpture, influencing fashion, photography, and architecture through his vision of form, isolation, and proportion. Giacometti’s work is represented in major museum collections including MoMA, the Tate Modern, and the Centre Pompidou, and continues to inspire artists, collectors, and thinkers worldwide. Standing alongside Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, Giacometti remains a towering figure in modern art—a sculptor-philosopher who transformed the human form into a universal symbol of resilience and reflection. His highest auction record was achieved by L’Homme qui marche I (Walking Man I), which sold for 141.3 million USD at Sotheby’s, London, on February 3, 2010, reaffirming Alberto Giacometti’s enduring legacy as one of the most visionary, profound, and collectible artists in the history of modern art. After Alberto Giacometti Annette...

"Annette" is a black and white lithograph after Alberto Giacometti, published in Derriere le Miroir. It depicts the bust of a nude woman in scratchy lines. Annette was Alberto's wife and frequently modeled for his sculptures and drawings. 10" x 7 1/4" art 21 1/4" x 18 5/8" frame Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) was born in Borgonovo, a Swiss municipality, to the post-impressionist painter Giovanni Giacometti. In 1922 he moved to Paris to study under the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, an associate of Auguste Rodin. It was there that Giacometti experimented with cubism and surrealism and came to be regarded as one of the leading surrealist sculptors. Among his associates were Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Bror Hjorth and Balthus. 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). This was followed by a unique artistic phase in which his statues of Isabel became stretched out; her limbs elongated. Obsessed with creating his sculptures exactly as he envisaged through his unique view of reality, he often carved until they were as thin as nails and reduced to the size of a pack of cigarettes, much to his consternation. A friend of his once said that if Giacometti decided to sculpt you, "he would make your head look like the blade of a knife." After his marriage to Annette Arm in 1946 his tiny sculptures became larger, but the larger they grew, the thinner they became. Giacometti said that the final result represented the sensation he felt when he looked at a woman. In 1962, Giacometti was awarded the grand prize for sculpture at the Venice Biennale, and the award brought with it worldwide fame. Even when he had achieved popularity and his work was in demand, he still reworked models, often destroying them or setting them aside to be returned to years later. The prints produced by Giacometti are often overlooked but the catalogue raisonné, Giacometti - The Complete Graphics and 15 Drawings by Herbert Lust (Tudor 1970), comments on their impact and gives details of the number of copies of each print. Some of his most important images were in editions of only 30 and many were described as rare in 1970. In his later years Giacometti's works were shown in a number of large exhibitions throughout Europe. Riding a wave of international popularity, and despite his declining health, he travelled to the United States in 1965 for an exhibition of his works at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. As his last work he prepared the text for the book Paris sans fin...

Untitled By Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor and painter known for his distinctive, elongated figures that convey a sense of existential loneliness and h...

Alberto Giacometti - Portrait Engraving (after the drawing) Published in the deluxe art review, XXe Siecle 1956 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Publisher: G. di San Lazzaro. From the art Re...

Artist: Alberto Giacometti Title: 'Nu Assis' Year: 1961 Medium: Original Lithograph on vélin paper Dimensions: 15in. by 11in. Edition: From the rare limited edition Reference : Lust,...