LA FAMIGLIA
GIACOMETTI
THE INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE WORKS ARE MANY AND VARIED, AND THEIR MUTUAL INFLUENCE CAN HARDLY BE OVERESTIMATED.
Giovanni Giacometti, born in 1868, is recognised as one of Switzerland’s earliest post-impressionists. His sons Alberto, Diego and Bruno each followed their father’s artistic footsteps in wholly distinct ways, while his only daughter Ottilia was immortalised in countless portraits. Their mother Annetta, together with the family home in Stampa, provided a tranquil haven – a calm base from which the ‘Giacometti- comets’ navigated the universe of 20th-century art and architecture. Counterbalancing the Alpine vistas of the Grisons were vibrant scenes of global metropolises, not least Paris, where the family left indelible marks.
GIOVANNI
GIACOMETTI
Fiammetta II, 1909Oil on canvas, 76.5 × 61 cm
Estimate:
CHF 250 000 / 350 000
Together they enjoyed happy years, recorded almost daily in paintings, drawings and sculptures. Yet the deaths of their father at 65 and Ottilia at just 33 cast long shadows over the family. The interweaving of their works is manifold – the cross-references between them cannot be overstated. Above all, Alberto and Diego were bound by a profound personal and creative bond. Bruno – the youngest, whose godfather was none other than Ferdinand Hodler – made his name as an architect, notably designing the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in the early 1950s.
ALBERTO
GIACOMETTI
Lampe modèle 'flambeau',petit modèle, vers 1934
Bronze, H 44.5 cm
Estimate:
CHF 150 000 / 250 000
In our Swiss Art auction, several Giacomettis come under the hammer: Giovanni’s vibrantly red-and-yellow ‘Fiammetta II’ of 1909 is a landmark work; a large-scale autumn landscape from 1932 represents the master’s late period. His cousin Augusto Giacometti whisks viewers into a shimmering temple of the muses with his ‘Theatre performance’. And in 1924 Alberto Giacometti created the ‘modèle flambeau’ lamp.
AUGUSTO
GIACOMETTI
Preparation of a theatre performance, 1920Oil on canvas
107 × 100.5 cm
Estimate:
CHF 70 000 / 90 000
THE METROPOLISES, ESPECIALLY PARIS, WHERE THE ARTISTS LEFT A DEEP MARK, OFFERED A STRIKING CONTRAST TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE SWISS GRISONS.
GIOVANNI
GIACOMETTI
Paesaggio d'autunno, 1932Oil on canvas
121 × 150 cm
Estimate:
CHF 400 000 / 600 000
FURTHER WORKS
BY THE GIACOMETTI FAMILY
GIOVANNI
GIACOMETTI
Il noce. The walnut tree. 1916Oil on canvas
100 × 76 cm
Estimate:
CHF 60 000 / 90 000
GIOVANNI
GIACOMETTI
The Sisters, 1922Oil on canvas
80 × 76 cm
Estimate:
CHF 30 000 / 50 000
ALBERTO
GIACOMETTI
Annette assise dans l'atelier, 1959Pencil on paper
50 × 32.6 cm
Estimate:
CHF 30 000 / 50 000
AUGUSTO
GIACOMETTI
Books and teacup, 1940Oil on canvas
52 × 61 cm
Estimate:
CHF 35 000 / 50 000
CONTACT FOR
INFORMATION
AND CONSIGNMENTS:
LAURA KOLLER
Co-Department HeadSwiss Art
lkoller@kollerauctions.com
+41 44 445 63 51
CONTACT FOR
INFORMATION
AND CONSIGNMENTS:
JARA KOLLER
Co-Department HeadImpressionist & Modern Art
jara.koller@kollerauctions.com
+41 44 445 63 08