One of the outstanding artists of the 20th century, Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), created this sculpture – in the form of a floor lamp – known as woman’s head, expressly for, and in consultation with, Swiss lawyer, industrialist, man of letters, and publisher Henri-Louis ...
One of the outstanding artists of the 20th century, Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), created this sculpture – in the form of a floor lamp – known as woman’s head, expressly for, and in consultation with, Swiss lawyer, industrialist, man of letters, and publisher Henri-Louis Mermod (1891-1962). At his lakeside residence in Lausanne, Villa Fantaisie, Mermod hosted the great European painters and writers of his day: including Ramuz, Claudel, Cocteau, Colette, Eluard, Raoul Dufy, Man Ray, Dubuffet, Laurencin, and Picasso, amongst others.
EXCEPTIONAL PROVENANCE
Since Mermod’s acquisition directly from Giacometti some 90 years ago, this work remained both in the same family as well as in Switzerland until this auction on 6 June 2024.
Thus
· never on the market anywhere
· corroborated by newly-unearthed correspondence between the artist and his client, dating the sculpture to an exact time
· recognised by the Giacometti Committee at the Foundation in Paris
1933, THE YEAR THIS SCULPTURE TOOK FORM
With the death of his beloved father Giovanni (1868-1933) – a Post-Impressionist painter – Alberto, eschewing realism in favour of Surrealism, became the toast of the Parisian avant-garde. Moreover, in this final decade of the interwar years – rich in both the fine and decorative arts – his creations found homes in the residences of le beau monde, including legendary collectors on both sides of the Atlantic: French perfumers Guerlain; French art patrons Viscount Charles de Noailles (1891-1981) and his wife Viscountess Marie-Laure (1902-1970); America’s industrial, political, and banking Rockefellers; visionary haute couturière Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973). For these his clients, society decorator Jean-Michel Franck (1895-1941) approached Giacometti to fashion works which he then incorporated in his interior designs.
AN ILLUSTRIOUS FAMILY FROM TICINO
In addition to his talented father Giovanni (1868-1933), Alberto’s brothers were sculptor Diego (1902-1985), and architect Bruno (1907-2012); his father’s cousin, Symbolist painter Augusto (1877-1947); not to mention his godfather, Expressionist painter Cuno Amiet (1868-1961).
RECOMMENDED READING
A Giacometti Portrait by James Lord In 1964, for almost three weeks, American author James Lord (1922-2009) sat for his portrait in oil by his friend Giacometti. As the title suggests, this resulting biography – first published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1965 – is Giacometti’s portrait in prose. Estimated at USD 22-30 Million in 2015, the painting, with a similar provenance to the sculpture opposite, nevertheless sold for less in New York at auction.
BY ALAN NAZAR IPEKIAN
