Alberto Giacometti | |
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Portrait of Alberto-Giacometti, (etching by Jan Hladík, 2002)
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Born |
Borgonovo, Stampa, Graubünden, Switzerland |
10 October 1901
Died | 11 January 1966 Chur, Graubünden, Switzerland |
(aged 64)
Nationality | Swiss |
Education | The School of Fine Arts, Geneva |
Known for | Sculpture, Painting, Drawing |
Movement | Surrealism, Expressionism, Cubism, Formalism |
Spouse(s) | Annette Arm |
Awards | "Grand Prize for Sculpture" at 1962 Venice Biennale |
Alberto Giacometti (Italian pronunciation: [alˈbɛrto dʒakoˈmetti]; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman and printmaker. He was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia, as the eldest of four children to Giovanni Giacometti, a well-known post-Impressionist painter. Coming from an artistic background, he was interested in art from an early age.
Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, now part of the Switzerland municipality of Bregaglia, near the Italian border. He was a descendant of Protestant refugees escaping the inquisition. Alberto attended the Geneva School of Fine Arts. His brothers Diego (1902–85) and Bruno (1907–2012) would go on to become artists as well. Additionally, Zaccaria Giacometti, later professor of constitutional law and chancellor of the University of Zurich grew up together with them, having been orphaned at the age of 12 in 1905.
In 1922 he moved to Paris to study under the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, an associate of Rodin. It was there that Giacometti experimented with cubism and surrealism and came to be regarded as one of the leading surrealist sculptors. Among his associates were Miró, Max Ernst, Picasso, Bror Hjorth and Balthus.