Sabine Weiss, Diego Giacometti in Alberto’s studio, 1966
Alberto Giacometti, Walking Man, 1960
Right now at the Seattle Art Museum, there’s a show of Alberto Giacometti‘s artworks. His drawings, paintings, and sculptures will be on display at SAM until October 9th. This is the second in a series of posts about Alberto Giacometti, who lived from 1901 – 1966.
In the days since my last post about Alberto Giacometti’s brother Diego, I have learned much more about the two siblings and their relationship. This information has affected how I see the artwork, so I wanted to continue the previous post into this one. See what you think.
Diego, by Alberto Giacometti, 1915
Note: If you look up “Giacometti” you’re probably learning about Alberto Giacometti, but be careful: Alberto’s father Giovanni and his younger brother Diego were also artists. Alberto is “The” Giacometti. This post has deeper information about the two siblings, Alberto and Diego. More about Giovanni later.
Diego was Alberto’s brother, best friend, most frequent model, and his studio mate. Thirty-five years ago, art critic Michael Brenson wrote “One cannot imagine Alberto without Diego.”
Alberto’s first bust, made when he was 14, was of his brother. He kept the sculpture all his life. Alberto never stopped modelling Diego’s head. He was expelled from the Surrealist group, partly for working from a live model.
“At first, I felt an intense pleasure. I thought that it would be quite easy and I would be able to reproduce more or less what I saw… Fifty years later, I still feel I never succeeded in this,” Alberto said in 1962. “The day I’ll know how to do Diego’s head, I will know how to do any head.”
Alberto and Diego were inseparable as children. Alberto had a mind that was interested in art. He’d listen to artists, poets, and philosophers talk for hours, or sketch studies from his father’s art books. Diego was more of a physically engaged person. While Alberto was sketching, Diego was hiking. Later, Diego would prefer to stand a mere inch away from sculptures to see how they were made.
In his early 20s, Alberto moved to Paris and Diego followed him a couple of years later. ”I went to Paris, first of all, because Alberto was there,” Diego said. For most of their adult lives, the two lived and worked together every day.
At first, the brothers shared the same small spaces in Paris. Even after World War II, when Alberto was married to Annette Arm, and Diego was living with a Frenchwoman named Nelly Constantin, they lived mere blocks from one another, and their studios were side by side.
Alberto encouraged Diego to learn sculpture, so that Alberto would not have to work with the mould-makers. Diego learned the craft and made his own decorative bronze furniture pieces, for which it took decades to win recognition. He sculpted a couple of heads but he kept them hidden. He liked to sculpt animals. Once Diego started with animals, Alberto left that to his brother and stopped making his own animal sculptures. Soon, Diego started building the supporting frameworks and moulds for his brother’s sculptures.
Head of Diego, 1936
“Every day, Diego sketches, makes armatures, fiddles with plaster animals, patinates bronze. It is all second nature to him now, but the curiosity and hunger of his hands have not begun to be satisfied.” -Alberto Giacometti.
Diego Giacometti, bird
When Alberto received a commission for stone, Diego helped shape the marble, which Alberto then chiseled. Diego handled the bronze foundries for Alberto. In the mid 1950’s he prepared and applied the patina for some of the bronze casts. Alberto was a perfectionist who was extremely particular about the surfaces of his sculpture, but he trusted Diego to treat his sculptures in a way that was true to his intention. Diego’s contribution to the work was invaluable.
Noailles commission
Diego’s role in his brother’s production took on increasing importance as the years progressed. There was not a single artwork Alberto made that did not first get discussed with Diego. When Alberto was unreachable, art dealers would rely on Diego to get the sculptures from the studio, bronze them, and ship the editions. “He is for his brother the awakening and supporting mind on all occasions,” said Herta Wescher, a one-time neighbour. “Along with Annette, he is the most available and patient model, but he is also in charge of a thousand practical things. He makes sure appointments are respected. He gets rid of unwelcome visitors. But above all, no work is born without deep discussion between the two, Alberto’s repeated questions clearly audible, unlike Diego’s, who is not the sort of person to speak so loudly.”
Pinned to Diego’s studio wall is a scrap of newspaper with Alberto’s explanation of why he rarely traveled: ”To look each day of the year at the same and unique face without ever failing to discover there something new, that is the greatest adventure by far, worth more than any voyage around the world.”
Diego with a Windbreaker, 1954, painted plaster
”Alberto always called Diego when something was ready and asked him what he thought of it,” Dupin said. ”When Diego said he didn’t like something, that a bust hadn’t been worked enough, Alberto accepted it.” Some say Diego would pull sculptures away from Alberto when he would not stop picking at them, but Alberto also made his own decisions according to his own philosophy of art. Diego respected this, though with the voice of a craftsman instead of a poet, he lacked his own eloquence for it. Alberto, who was a night owl, would leave a note on his sculpture for Diego, who was an early riser, to tell him whether the sculpture was ready to cast. Alberto maintained artistic control over his sculptures.
Diego was almost never critical of his brother or his work. One of the few exceptions is how fragile the sculptures were. As a craftsman, Diego believed that an object should be built to last forever. ”In order for it to be sculpture,” Diego has said, ”it must be solid.” The fragility of Alberto’s work dismayed him.
”I used to tell Alberto,” Diego said, ” ‘You are not making sculpture, you are making anti-sculpture, you are making solidified drawings.’ He said, ‘Oui.’ ”
1959
The close ties between the brothers severed after the early 1960’s, when at 60 (Alberto was born in 1901), Alberto fell in love with Caroline, a 20 year old courtesan from Montparnasse. He lavished her with gifts, a generosity not paid to his loyal wife or brother. Alberto viewed his wife and brother as extensions of his own hands, so neglected to pay or credit them for their many contributions.
Diego then refused to continue modeling for Alberto, who went on to sculpt his brother’s face from memory, mixing it with other characters. In 1966, Alberto died, leaving no will, and nothing to Diego.
Bust of Man, 1965-66. Plaster. Giacometti Foundation Collection, Paris
After Alberto died, due to a legal loophole, Diego had legal-ish possession of Alberto’s moulds and sculptures. He sold the moulds and copies, sometimes authenticating with a signature himself, while Alberto’s wife Annette looked the other way.
“Diego was a superb craftsman with flair and wit who invented his own fanciful world; his objects will survive, but he did not have his brother’s imagination, drive, ambition or purpose,” said Brenson. “Alberto had a deep culture; he was at home with philosophy and poetry and steeped in the history of art. He never goes away. He’s always contemporary—an inexhaustible figure.”
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Instructors at the League are encouraged to take each other’s classes. It is a fun way for us to continue our learning, get new ideas, and stay connected with each other. Shruti Ghatak has been taking all the League classes she can, and evidently she sketches our portraits while we are teaching. Ghatak received her …
This is been a fantastically prolific challenge! As I write this, there are 1,271 #30sal Instagram posts, and they’re still coming in. WOW! It has been a lot of fun for me to throw out ideas and see what you all create. Thank you to all the local people who participated, and shared this with …
Giacometti: More about Diego
Sabine Weiss, Diego Giacometti in Alberto’s studio, 1966
Alberto Giacometti, Walking Man, 1960
Right now at the Seattle Art Museum, there’s a show of Alberto Giacometti‘s artworks. His drawings, paintings, and sculptures will be on display at SAM until October 9th. This is the second in a series of posts about Alberto Giacometti, who lived from 1901 – 1966.
In the days since my last post about Alberto Giacometti’s brother Diego, I have learned much more about the two siblings and their relationship. This information has affected how I see the artwork, so I wanted to continue the previous post into this one. See what you think.
Diego, by Alberto Giacometti, 1915
Note: If you look up “Giacometti” you’re probably learning about Alberto Giacometti, but be careful: Alberto’s father Giovanni and his younger brother Diego were also artists. Alberto is “The” Giacometti. This post has deeper information about the two siblings, Alberto and Diego. More about Giovanni later.
Diego was Alberto’s brother, best friend, most frequent model, and his studio mate. Thirty-five years ago, art critic Michael Brenson wrote “One cannot imagine Alberto without Diego.”
Alberto’s first bust, made when he was 14, was of his brother. He kept the sculpture all his life. Alberto never stopped modelling Diego’s head. He was expelled from the Surrealist group, partly for working from a live model.
“At first, I felt an intense pleasure. I thought that it would be quite easy and I would be able to reproduce more or less what I saw… Fifty years later, I still feel I never succeeded in this,” Alberto said in 1962. “The day I’ll know how to do Diego’s head, I will know how to do any head.”
Alberto and Diego were inseparable as children. Alberto had a mind that was interested in art. He’d listen to artists, poets, and philosophers talk for hours, or sketch studies from his father’s art books. Diego was more of a physically engaged person. While Alberto was sketching, Diego was hiking. Later, Diego would prefer to stand a mere inch away from sculptures to see how they were made.
In his early 20s, Alberto moved to Paris and Diego followed him a couple of years later. ”I went to Paris, first of all, because Alberto was there,” Diego said. For most of their adult lives, the two lived and worked together every day.
At first, the brothers shared the same small spaces in Paris. Even after World War II, when Alberto was married to Annette Arm, and Diego was living with a Frenchwoman named Nelly Constantin, they lived mere blocks from one another, and their studios were side by side.
Alberto encouraged Diego to learn sculpture, so that Alberto would not have to work with the mould-makers. Diego learned the craft and made his own decorative bronze furniture pieces, for which it took decades to win recognition. He sculpted a couple of heads but he kept them hidden. He liked to sculpt animals. Once Diego started with animals, Alberto left that to his brother and stopped making his own animal sculptures. Soon, Diego started building the supporting frameworks and moulds for his brother’s sculptures.
Head of Diego, 1936
“Every day, Diego sketches, makes armatures, fiddles with plaster animals, patinates bronze. It is all second nature to him now, but the curiosity and hunger of his hands have not begun to be satisfied.” -Alberto Giacometti.
Diego Giacometti, bird
When Alberto received a commission for stone, Diego helped shape the marble, which Alberto then chiseled. Diego handled the bronze foundries for Alberto. In the mid 1950’s he prepared and applied the patina for some of the bronze casts. Alberto was a perfectionist who was extremely particular about the surfaces of his sculpture, but he trusted Diego to treat his sculptures in a way that was true to his intention. Diego’s contribution to the work was invaluable.
Noailles commission
Diego’s role in his brother’s production took on increasing importance as the years progressed. There was not a single artwork Alberto made that did not first get discussed with Diego. When Alberto was unreachable, art dealers would rely on Diego to get the sculptures from the studio, bronze them, and ship the editions. “He is for his brother the awakening and supporting mind on all occasions,” said Herta Wescher, a one-time neighbour. “Along with Annette, he is the most available and patient model, but he is also in charge of a thousand practical things. He makes sure appointments are respected. He gets rid of unwelcome visitors. But above all, no work is born without deep discussion between the two, Alberto’s repeated questions clearly audible, unlike Diego’s, who is not the sort of person to speak so loudly.”
Pinned to Diego’s studio wall is a scrap of newspaper with Alberto’s explanation of why he rarely traveled: ”To look each day of the year at the same and unique face without ever failing to discover there something new, that is the greatest adventure by far, worth more than any voyage around the world.”
Diego with a Windbreaker, 1954, painted plaster
”Alberto always called Diego when something was ready and asked him what he thought of it,” Dupin said. ”When Diego said he didn’t like something, that a bust hadn’t been worked enough, Alberto accepted it.” Some say Diego would pull sculptures away from Alberto when he would not stop picking at them, but Alberto also made his own decisions according to his own philosophy of art. Diego respected this, though with the voice of a craftsman instead of a poet, he lacked his own eloquence for it. Alberto, who was a night owl, would leave a note on his sculpture for Diego, who was an early riser, to tell him whether the sculpture was ready to cast. Alberto maintained artistic control over his sculptures.
Diego was almost never critical of his brother or his work. One of the few exceptions is how fragile the sculptures were. As a craftsman, Diego believed that an object should be built to last forever. ”In order for it to be sculpture,” Diego has said, ”it must be solid.” The fragility of Alberto’s work dismayed him.
”I used to tell Alberto,” Diego said, ” ‘You are not making sculpture, you are making anti-sculpture, you are making solidified drawings.’ He said, ‘Oui.’ ”
1959
The close ties between the brothers severed after the early 1960’s, when at 60 (Alberto was born in 1901), Alberto fell in love with Caroline, a 20 year old courtesan from Montparnasse. He lavished her with gifts, a generosity not paid to his loyal wife or brother. Alberto viewed his wife and brother as extensions of his own hands, so neglected to pay or credit them for their many contributions.
Diego then refused to continue modeling for Alberto, who went on to sculpt his brother’s face from memory, mixing it with other characters. In 1966, Alberto died, leaving no will, and nothing to Diego.
Bust of Man, 1965-66. Plaster. Giacometti Foundation Collection, Paris
After Alberto died, due to a legal loophole, Diego had legal-ish possession of Alberto’s moulds and sculptures. He sold the moulds and copies, sometimes authenticating with a signature himself, while Alberto’s wife Annette looked the other way.
“Diego was a superb craftsman with flair and wit who invented his own fanciful world; his objects will survive, but he did not have his brother’s imagination, drive, ambition or purpose,” said Brenson. “Alberto had a deep culture; he was at home with philosophy and poetry and steeped in the history of art. He never goes away. He’s always contemporary—an inexhaustible figure.”
Sources:
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2017/04/30/symbiotic-siblings-alberto-and-diego-giacometti
https://www.ideelart.com/magazine/diego-giacometti
https://www.christies.com/features/the-furniture-and-sculptures-of-diego-giacometti-12282-3.aspx?sc_lang=en
https://www.christies.com/features/alberto-and-diego-giacometti-brothers-by-design-9452-1.aspx
https://www.fondation-giacometti.fr/en/article/416/giacomettis-portraiture
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