Alberto Giacometti is one of the most visible artists at the Foundation. Assembled through the sculptor's generosity, the Foundation's collection is one of the most important in the world. The Maeght Foundation is the only collection to possess both versions of Man Walking.
At the end of the war, Giacometti's work, marked by surrealism, had not yet taken off. Most of the artists lived in the Montparnasse district. Giacometti settled on rue Hippolyte Maindron, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Like other artists, he liked to frequent the bars of the rue Vavin and the famous brasserie La Coupole. Aimé met him before the war, but it was not until 1947 that he was introduced to him by André Breton during the Surrealist exhibition.
DLM accompanying the first Alberto Giacometti exhibition at the Maeght Gallery in 1950. The first Giacometti exhibition at the Maeght Gallery was held in 1950 and included sculptures and paintings made before the war as well as some recent drawings. The New York Times and The Art Digest hailed the event. Paris was still the capital of the art world. This exhibition marked a new beginning for Giacometti. His art is finally perceived in its true light.
Alberto Giacometti and Aimé Maeght at the Maeght Gallery
Giacometti's exhibitions follow one another approximately every two years at the Maeght Gallery. He produces his first lithographs on zinc to illustrate Derrière Le Miroir, whose texts are signed by Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Genet and Olivier Larronde.
In 1959, for a project for a square in New York, a project that would not come to fruition, Giacometti imagined a Walking Man, a Standing Woman and a Head of Diego on a pedestal, which, for him, summed up all his research.
Alberto Giacometti and Josep-Lluis Sert at the Maeght Foundation in 1964.
Aimé Maeght offers his friend the use of the courtyard of the Foundation, which is under construction under the direction of the Catalan architect Josep-Lluis Sert. Giacometti, by observing Egyptian statuary and the work of Rodin, understood that the walking man is one of the most important themes in the history of sculpture.
Alberto Giacometti inspects the layout of his sculptures in the Cour Giacometti, moments before the inauguration of the Foundation on July 28, 1964.The Giacometti Courtyard is dominated by the main building with its pagoda roofs, the symbol of the Foundation. Ingenious clerestories bring natural light to the town hall. The courtyard hosts the Foundation's Nights, concerts and special events.
The two versions of The Walking Man held by the Maeght Foundation are exceptional works because, instead of a patina, the bronzes are painted by Alberto Giacometti.Alberto Giacometti and his sculptures Women of Venice in the Giacometti Court, July 1964.
Femmes de Venise, 1956, bronzes, each about 120 cm high.
Alberto Giacometti at the Maeght Foundation, 1964
The grand femmes debout, at over 270 cm high, are the largest sculptures Giacometti ever made.
Alberto Giacometti sets up his exhibition in the Maeght Gallery, with Femme debout and L'Homme qui marche.
Alberto Giacometti in his parisian studio.
Yoyo Maeght alongside Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme qui marche in the courtyard of the Maeght Foundation.Beautiful, L'Homme qui marche in the fog.
The collection of works by Alberto Giacometti at the Maeght Foundation includes 35 sculptures, including rare bronzes from the 1930s such as Le Cube, La Femme cuillère or l’Objet invisible. 30 drawings, portraits or studies for sculptures. Engravings and lithographs complete this remarkable collection.
Derrière Le Miroir special inauguration of the Maeght Foundation in 1964.
Portrait of Aimé Maeght by Alberto GiacomettiAn exceptional document, Francis Bacon, poses with Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme qui marche, at the Maeght Foundation.
