Alberto Giacometti - Not to talk of painted sculptures

Exhibition Catalogue Alberto Giacometti - Not to talk of painted sculptures, presented at the Fondation Giacometti, Paris (July 2 - November 3, 2024).

“Don't talk about painted sculptures”, Alberto Giacometti explained to his gallery owner, Pierre Matisse, in 1950, ”color is part of sculpture, [sculptures] are painted in oil like paintings.” It was the desire to make “living” figures that prompted the artist to seize his palette and brushes to “animate” his sculptures, both large and small.

Very early on, he used his brush to “animate” some of his sculptures, painting facial features and hair, accentuating body shapes and enhancing volumes. His painterly tools and gestures are applied to sculpture, and vice versa.

Little known to the public, Giacometti's painted sculptures are the subject of a first-ever study, revealing this secret and moving part of the artist's production.