Diego Giacometti (15 November 1902 – 15 July 1985) was a Swiss sculptor and designer, and the younger brother of the sculptor
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...
.
Youth
Diego Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, a Swiss village near the Italian border. Son of Annetta Stampa and the painter
Giovanni Giacometti
Giovanni Ulrico Giacometti (7 March 1868 – 25 June 1933) was a Swiss painter. He was the father of artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti and architect Bruno Giacometti.
Biography
He was the fourth in a family of eight children. His father, ...
, he grew up in a warm, convivial familial atmosphere amidst the animals of their farm. In 1904, the family settled in nearby
Stampa in the
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
of
Grisons
The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include:
*german: (Kanton) Graubünden ;
* Romansh:
** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...
.
After business studies in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and
St. Gallen, at age 25 he followed the advice of his mother Annetta and went to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to rejoin his brother Alberto, then a student of the sculptor
Antoine Bourdelle
Antoine Bourdelle (30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important fi ...
at the Academy of the Grande Chaumière. All three of the Giacometti brothers went into the visual arts: Alberto and Diego into painting and sculpture, and
Bruno
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
into architecture.
Alberto and Diego
The working relationship of Diego with Alberto was so close that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the work of Diego from that of Alberto, 13 months his senior. They shared the same sculpture studio at 46 rue Hippolyte-Maindron in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
until the ends of their lives and executed the commissions of their cultured clients such as the Maeght and
Noailles families.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Diego Giacometti did his first animal sculptures. Animals regularly adorned his works, such as the ''Table arbre à la souris'' (Tree table with mouse) which belonged to the collection of Jean-Paul Binet, an eminent surgeon who was a close friend and patron of Diego Giacometti. His fascination with the animal kingdom was tied to the mythological and dream-like world of his childhood.
Work of Diego Giacometti
His sculptures are sometimes amusing or picturesque. For example, ''L' Autruche'' (The Ostrich) owed its existence to the fact that his friend Dr. Binet, not knowing what to do with an
ostrich egg
The egg of the ostrich (genus ''Struthio'') is the largest of any living bird. The shell has a long history of use by humans as a container and for decorative artwork. The eggs are not commonly eaten.
Biology
The female common ostrich lays her f ...
, gave it to Diego who integrated inside an ostrich that he dreamt up and sculpted. Diego Giacometti's animal art was rich. Along with familiar animals he liked to have animals that symbolized force, power and beauty such as the heads of lions, wolves and horses.
He used bronze, a material that permitted him to sculpt in great detail, grace and elasticity. Diego's animals called for special, often costly techniques such as the
lost wax
Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is ...
method. His animals were so finely done they helped make his reputation.
After the death of Alberto in 1966, Diego redoubled his efforts, doing works of importance for decorators such as
Georges Geffroy
Georges Geffroy (1903–1971) was a post-war French interior designer.
Biography
"An eighteenth-century gentleman, a figure from another era, one of a breed of decorators that is extinct today,” remembers couturier Hubert de Givenchy;
Geffroy wa ...
and Henri Samuel, or ensembles for public works such as the Fondation Maeght in
Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Saint-Paul-de-Vence (, literally ''Saint-Paul of Vence''; oc, Sant Pau de Vença; it, San Paolo di Venza) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. One of the oldest medie ...
, the Chagall Museum in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
, and the Picasso Museum in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. It was only after Alberto died that Diego came to be widely recognized as an important artist.
A major selection of his working material - over 500 items from the studio - has been given in 1986 by his estate to the
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, following his exhibition held a few months after his death.
Giacometti was close friends and a mentor for celebrated designer
Ingrid Donat.
Bibliography
*
Daniel Marchesseau
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
, ''Diego Giacometti'', Hermann, Paris, 1986 - new publication : 2007 (English translation : Abrams, New York, 1986)
* Claude Delay, ''Giacometti, Alberto et Diego, l'histoire cachée'', Fayard, 2007
References
Sources
*
Diego Giacometti
Diego Giacometti (15 November 1902 – 15 July 1985) was a Swiss sculptor and designer, and the younger brother of the sculptor Alberto Giacometti.
Youth
Diego Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, a Swiss village near the Italian border. Son of An ...
, entry in the French Wikipedia, translated 12 June 2008
External links
*
*
Biography of Diego Giacomettiin English, Italian and Spanish
by Michael Brenson in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giacometti, Diego
Swiss furniture designers
1902 births
1985 deaths
Modern sculptors
Alberto Giacometti
People from Maloja District
Swiss-Italian people
Swiss Protestants
20th-century Swiss sculptors
20th-century Swiss male artists
Sibling artists