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Lot Essay
Diego Giacometti's work merges the worlds of sculpture and furniture design into one remarkable whole. His exquisitely designed and carefully crafted bronze tables are lovingly brought to life by the artist's own unique imagination, his extraordinary sense of proportion and his profound love of nature and the animal world.
Diego's lifelong fascination with furniture design can be traced back to the lamps that he created with his brother Alberto in the 1930s after a commission by the interior designer Jean-Michel Frank. These remarkable lamps with their elongated forms and female heads were designed by Alberto and executed by Diego, an example of the intimate proximity in which the two brothers worked for much of their adult lives. In fact, it is now known that Diego was responsible for much of the practical side of the sculptural process, assisting in the creation of many of Alberto's surrealistic sculptures. Furthermore, in the early 1930s Diego discovered a unique patination technique for bronze casting which characterises much of both brothers' work and which was jealously guarded by the two of them for the rest of their lives.
In the post-war era, Diego's work began to emerge in its own right from the shadow of his elder brother's oeuvre after the latter's death in 1966. Diego found a new freedom in the elongated form of his furniture design which allowed him to develop a magical world in which his magnificently rendered animals take on the appearance of ancient Etruscan sculpture. Becoming increasingly popular in the late 1960s and 70s Diego received many important commissions from decorators and private clients alike, including an important commission to design a number of fittings for the Musée Picasso in Paris.
The present work was owned by Pierre-Jean Moatti, the prefect of the Alpes Maritimes district in South-East France from November 1954. Moatti was a great friend of Aimé and Marguerite Maeght and was one of the main protagonists in establishing the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence and the Musée Chagall in Nice in 1972, both of which are furnished with works by Diego Giacometti. Moatti and his wife Isabelle were also passionate collectors; in addition to several pieces by Diego Giacometti, their collection comprised works by Picasso, Riopelle and Bazaine, as well as a large collection of lithographs and illustrated books by Chagall.
Diego's lifelong fascination with furniture design can be traced back to the lamps that he created with his brother Alberto in the 1930s after a commission by the interior designer Jean-Michel Frank. These remarkable lamps with their elongated forms and female heads were designed by Alberto and executed by Diego, an example of the intimate proximity in which the two brothers worked for much of their adult lives. In fact, it is now known that Diego was responsible for much of the practical side of the sculptural process, assisting in the creation of many of Alberto's surrealistic sculptures. Furthermore, in the early 1930s Diego discovered a unique patination technique for bronze casting which characterises much of both brothers' work and which was jealously guarded by the two of them for the rest of their lives.
In the post-war era, Diego's work began to emerge in its own right from the shadow of his elder brother's oeuvre after the latter's death in 1966. Diego found a new freedom in the elongated form of his furniture design which allowed him to develop a magical world in which his magnificently rendered animals take on the appearance of ancient Etruscan sculpture. Becoming increasingly popular in the late 1960s and 70s Diego received many important commissions from decorators and private clients alike, including an important commission to design a number of fittings for the Musée Picasso in Paris.
The present work was owned by Pierre-Jean Moatti, the prefect of the Alpes Maritimes district in South-East France from November 1954. Moatti was a great friend of Aimé and Marguerite Maeght and was one of the main protagonists in establishing the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence and the Musée Chagall in Nice in 1972, both of which are furnished with works by Diego Giacometti. Moatti and his wife Isabelle were also passionate collectors; in addition to several pieces by Diego Giacometti, their collection comprised works by Picasso, Riopelle and Bazaine, as well as a large collection of lithographs and illustrated books by Chagall.