He became a Surrealist in the 1930s.

His sculpture in this period was 'still-life' or 'magic objects'. It was later that he worked on more realistic single figures, those famous figures extremely emaciated in form, built up by working directly in plaster of Paris on a wire foundation.

He moved to the neutrality of Geneva during the 2nd World War and returned to paris in 1946. Three ears later, he married Arm.

His painting is just as beautiful as his sculpture and he became more active as a painter towards the end of his life. Not to be overlooked are his prints and are almost as important as his painting as the editions were sometimes so low (as low as 30) that they are rare on the art market these days and fetch the high prices you would expect.

He was an important figure in the Existentialist movement and was a good friend of Sartre.

Honours for Giacometti included grand prize for sculpture at the Venice Biennale.

Cast his works in bronze from the 1950s when the price for bronze became cheaper.

Collections:

• Amsterdam (Stedelijk)
• Basle
• London (Tate)
• New York (M of MA)
• Paris (Mus. d'Art Mod.)

Recommended Reading:

• Alberto Giacometti: The Complete Graphics

//Gallery//