Alberto Giacometti

Annette Giacometti, Paris (the artist's wife; and sold by the estate: Christie's, Paris, September 28, 2002, lot 18)
Acquired at the above sale

Please contact the Impressionist & Modern Art department for a complete condition report prepared by Wilson Conservation.
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 Figurine personifies one of the most iconic images of the artist's oeuvre, the standing female nude. Conceived circa 1956, it served as a precursor to the Femme de Venise series, and was a starting point for Giacometti's most distinctive line of experimentation with the female form. Throughout the 1940s and up until his death in 1966, Giacometti created several variations of a solitary nude woman, her long, lean body firmly anchored to a base. With its multiple and conflicting thematic connotations of stoicism, resilience, passivity, solitude, strength and vulnerability, it embodies the Existentialist concerns of many artists and intellectuals working in post-war Paris. The timeless quality and rough treatment of the bronze surface in the present work are reminiscent of artefacts of ancient civilisations, such as Egyptian statues or Cycladic fertility goddesses, which were an important source of inspiration for Giacometti.