Lot Essay
This drawing represents the sculpture La Table, 1933, one of the most characteristic works during Giacometti's surrealist period. It is not a preparatory study; its refined technique and completeness demonstrates that it was realized after the sculpture, and that it should be considered as an independent expression of this subject.
The drawing was previously in the collection of Wolfgang Paalen, an artist of Austrian origin who lived in Paris. He joined the surrealist movement in the 1930s and was especially close to André Bréton. The drawing was exhibited in the Exposición Surrealista organized by the artist Oscar Dominguez in 1935 for the review Gaceta de Arte in Tenerife. It was presumably acquired by Paalen during this time. He took it with him when he emigrated to Mexico in 1939, and he included it in the 1940 exhibition Exposición Internacional del Surrealismo, which he organized with assistance from Bréton. It has not been exhibited or published since.
There is a related drawing in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, which was also done after the sculpture. It is probably a preliminary exercise for the present work. Both drawings reproduce all elements of the sculpture although they are not entirely faithful to the original. In the present version the table is larger and the veil draped over the female bust almost touches the floor, whereas in the sculpture it is much shorter.
The beauty of this drawing stems from the complex manner in which it is rendered. Giacometti employs a disciplined cross-hatching, eliminating the possibility of correcting or reshaping the basic lines. He defines light and shadow by skillfully giving the illusion of depth. This kind of accurate, methodical and patient drawing resembles the technique of engraving. The hatched techique is also observable in Figure (coll. Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Bern) and Lunaire (coll. Adrian Maeght, Paris). Reinhold Hohl suggests that both drawings were possibly done in 1933, although the artist applied the date 1935. Because of the shared technique and similarities in the figure of the woman which appears in all three drawings, Giacometti probably drew them around the same time.
Giacometti created the sculpture La Table in plaster for the Exposition Surrealiste which was held at the Galerie Pierre Colle in Paris, June, 1933. It was purchased by Viscount Charles de Noailles, who donated it to the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris in 1951. It was the first sculpture by Giacometti to enter a French public museum. In 1969, concerned about the deteriorating state of the plaster sculpture, the Musée cast from it a unique bronze.
This drawing has been requested for a Giacometti exhibition which will take place in Milan, Palazzo Reale, Feb.-April, 1995 and Florence, Palazzo Vecchio, April-June, 1995.
Christie's wishes to thank Casimiro Di Crescenzo for his assistance in researching and writing about this drawing.
The drawing was previously in the collection of Wolfgang Paalen, an artist of Austrian origin who lived in Paris. He joined the surrealist movement in the 1930s and was especially close to André Bréton. The drawing was exhibited in the Exposición Surrealista organized by the artist Oscar Dominguez in 1935 for the review Gaceta de Arte in Tenerife. It was presumably acquired by Paalen during this time. He took it with him when he emigrated to Mexico in 1939, and he included it in the 1940 exhibition Exposición Internacional del Surrealismo, which he organized with assistance from Bréton. It has not been exhibited or published since.
There is a related drawing in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, which was also done after the sculpture. It is probably a preliminary exercise for the present work. Both drawings reproduce all elements of the sculpture although they are not entirely faithful to the original. In the present version the table is larger and the veil draped over the female bust almost touches the floor, whereas in the sculpture it is much shorter.
The beauty of this drawing stems from the complex manner in which it is rendered. Giacometti employs a disciplined cross-hatching, eliminating the possibility of correcting or reshaping the basic lines. He defines light and shadow by skillfully giving the illusion of depth. This kind of accurate, methodical and patient drawing resembles the technique of engraving. The hatched techique is also observable in Figure (coll. Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Bern) and Lunaire (coll. Adrian Maeght, Paris). Reinhold Hohl suggests that both drawings were possibly done in 1933, although the artist applied the date 1935. Because of the shared technique and similarities in the figure of the woman which appears in all three drawings, Giacometti probably drew them around the same time.
Giacometti created the sculpture La Table in plaster for the Exposition Surrealiste which was held at the Galerie Pierre Colle in Paris, June, 1933. It was purchased by Viscount Charles de Noailles, who donated it to the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris in 1951. It was the first sculpture by Giacometti to enter a French public museum. In 1969, concerned about the deteriorating state of the plaster sculpture, the Musée cast from it a unique bronze.
This drawing has been requested for a Giacometti exhibition which will take place in Milan, Palazzo Reale, Feb.-April, 1995 and Florence, Palazzo Vecchio, April-June, 1995.
Christie's wishes to thank Casimiro Di Crescenzo for his assistance in researching and writing about this drawing.