''The Palace at 4 a.m.'' () is a 1932

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

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 ...

. It is in the collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

.Lord, James (1997). ''Giacometti: A Biography.''

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, Giacometti said the work relates to "a period of six months passed in the presence of a woman who, concentrating all life in herself, transported my every moment into a state of enchantment. We constructed a fantastical palace in the night—a very fragile palace of matches. At the least false movement, a whole section would collapse. We always began it again."Krauss, Rosalind E. (1981). ''Passages in Modern Sculpture.''

MIT Press The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962. History The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...

Literary influence

William Maxwell in '' So Long, See You Tomorrow'' (1980) links ''The Palace at 4 a. m.'' to the narrator's house while it is being built. It is mainly a scaffold structure which he and Cletus climb all over in the evenings. Maxwell uses Giacometti's own description of his inspiration for the piece to convey the freedom and wonder of the boys in this structure.

References

External links

''The Palace at 4 a.m.''
via

1932 sculptures Sculptures by Alberto Giacometti Sculptures in the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) Surrealism {{NewYork-sculpture-stub