Alberto Giacometti

Galerie Pierre Loeb, Paris

The Edward & Betty Marcus Foundation, Dallas (sold: Christie's, New York, November 13, 1985, lot 351)

Waddington Galleries, London

Sale: Christie's, London, June 30, 1999, lot 542

Acquired at the above sale

Dallas, Museum for Contemporary Art, To Be Continued: An Exhibition of the Museum's Collection now and in prospect, 1960, no. 47

Dallas, Museum of Fine Arts & Monterrey, Museo de Monterrey, Alberto Giacometti, 1979-80, no. 33

London, Waddington Galleries, Twentieth Century Works, 1988, no. 5, illustrated in color in the catalogue

London, Waddington Galleries, Twentieth Century Works, 1989, no. 32, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Very good condition. The canvas was lined during the artist's painting process with another canvas, evidenced by paint and the artist's signature appearing over the tape at the extreme edges. This peripheral tape is slightly torn along the left edge in areas and is not uniformly adhered, but the composition itself is unaffected. At the lower left corner, the lined canvas has relaxed to create a ridge, and there are a few tiny retouches evident under ultra-violet light. Otherwise, the work is in beautiful, original condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Giacometti's depictions of the interior of his studio capture the frenetic artistry that defined his creative process.  Between 1950 and 1954 he completed several canvases, drawings and lithographs that depicted the jumble of plaster sculptures, empty bottles, armatures, stretcher bars and wooden stools that crowded his workspace (figs. 1 & 2).  The ashen and tobacco-stained palette of the artist's paintings of this subject, including the present work, evoke the plaster dust that covered nearly every surface and the cigarette butts that he discarded all over the floor.  Alexander Liberman, who visited Giacometti's studio in the early 1950s, described the scene: "Under a big window is a long table entirely covered with squeezed tubes of paint, palettes, paintbrushes, rags and bottles of turpentine.  Like figures, the bottles stand shrouded in layers of dust chipped away from Giacometti's sculpture.  Here sculpture and painting mix intimately" (A. Liberman, The Artist and His Studio, New York, 1960, pp. 277-78).

Giacometti once quipped that only Francis Bacon had a messier studio than he did, perhaps indicative of a certain pride that he may have taken in his own permissive disorderliness. Yet, there are obvious elements of staging in these compositions that remind us of the artist's overall control of his environment.  We can see this in the present work, where a few strategically placed apples appear to the right of sculptural head to balance the composition.   The tension between order and disorder is at the heart of these compositions, and Giacometti's painting captures the beauty created by these forces in opposition.