Important Design
Important Design
Diego Giacometti
Le Miracle Des Roses
Auction Closed
June 9, 06:24 PM GMT
Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Diego Giacometti
Le Miracle Des Roses
circa 1970
bas-relief plaster
43¾ x 29⅝ x 2½ in. (111.1 x 75.2 x 6.4 cm)
The artist
Frédéric Brollo, Paris
Artcurial, Paris, September 14, 2016, lot 30
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Frédéric Brollo, Paris
Artcurial, Paris, September 14, 2016, lot 30
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Adrien Maeght, ed., Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 159 (for the model in bronze)
Diego Giacometti is best remembered for his animal-inspired oeuvre, but the sculptor also occasionally turned to religion to inform the imagery and narrative of his work. In the present lot, Giacometti depicts the miracle of the roses, an occurrence in Catholicism in which the appearance of roses announces the divine activity of God. The plaster is divided into three distinct sections. On the right side, a female figure stands with the sun beaming above her and roses cascading around her. One of her arms stretches to the upper left, where rows of animals, plants and vases symbolize a season of bountiful crops. Her other arm gestures to the lower left, where a group of human figures look up at her beseechingly. The orderly composition and its use of hieratic scale evokes the timeless beauty of Egyptian hieroglyphs, yet its delicately sculpted, low relief details are unmistakably the modern style of Giacometti.
From this plaster, a unique bronze plaque was cast and installed in the Sainte-Roseline Chapel in Arcs-sur-Argens, France. The 13th-century Romanesque chapel houses the body and relics of Saint Roseline, a nun in the Carthusian Order who lived in the early 1300s. Born into an aristocratic family, Roseline became known for her charity and kindness to the poor. At a young age Roseline secretly distributed bread to the local people, hiding the extra food in her dress when leaving the castle. When discovered by her father who did not approve, it is believed that he did not find food in her clothes but roses, an elegant manifestation of her saintly behavior. Roseline was credited with several other miracles, including yielding successful crops and rescuing her brother during the Crusades, for which she was later canonized in the 19th century. Le Miracle des Roses by Giacometti is a fitting tribute to her legacy. The bronze cast remains in excellent artistic company in the chapel, which also features a mosaic created by Marc Chagall in 1975. The preparatory plaster presented here has its own distinguished provenance, originating from the artist’s atelier before passing into the collection of his close family friend Frédéric Brollo. Its religious imagery and sculptural presence, coupled with its storied history and provenance, make this an unparalleled masterpiece by Diego Giacometti.
From this plaster, a unique bronze plaque was cast and installed in the Sainte-Roseline Chapel in Arcs-sur-Argens, France. The 13th-century Romanesque chapel houses the body and relics of Saint Roseline, a nun in the Carthusian Order who lived in the early 1300s. Born into an aristocratic family, Roseline became known for her charity and kindness to the poor. At a young age Roseline secretly distributed bread to the local people, hiding the extra food in her dress when leaving the castle. When discovered by her father who did not approve, it is believed that he did not find food in her clothes but roses, an elegant manifestation of her saintly behavior. Roseline was credited with several other miracles, including yielding successful crops and rescuing her brother during the Crusades, for which she was later canonized in the 19th century. Le Miracle des Roses by Giacometti is a fitting tribute to her legacy. The bronze cast remains in excellent artistic company in the chapel, which also features a mosaic created by Marc Chagall in 1975. The preparatory plaster presented here has its own distinguished provenance, originating from the artist’s atelier before passing into the collection of his close family friend Frédéric Brollo. Its religious imagery and sculptural presence, coupled with its storied history and provenance, make this an unparalleled masterpiece by Diego Giacometti.