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Lot Essay
Contrairement à Alberto, dont la vie amoureuse tumultueuse avec ses muses a été largement documentée, son frère Diego a mené une vie privée extrêmement discrète. Au milieu des années 1930, il rencontre au Dôme la ravissante Nelly Constantin, alors âgée de dix-neuf ans et déjà mère d’un jeune enfant. Amoureux, il lui propose de partager son appartement de la rued’Alésia. Elle fut sa compagne pendant plus de vingt ans et joua un rôle important dans sa vie. Ils se séparèrent à la fin des années 1950, mais restèrent étroitement en contact jusqu’à la fin. Johnny, le fils de Nelly, assistera Diego à l’atelier des rues Hippolyte-Maindron et du Moulin-Vert, du milieu des années 1970 jusqu’à son décès.Durant ses années de formation à Paris (1920-1930), Giacometti fréquentait assidûment le cirque et les music-halls. Ces visites lui inspirèrent plusieurs de ses premières esquisses, capturant l'énergie fugace et cinétique des acrobates et des artistes de scène. Les historiens associent l'intérêt de Giacometti pour le cirque à son exploration des cages et des cadres spatiaux, comme dans son oeuvre La Piste (1931). Dans ces pièces, il traitait le socle ou la cage comme une scène de théâtre ou une piste de cirque, isolant des figures dans l'espace pour explorer la perception de la distance et de l'échelle par le spectateur.
Unlike Alberto, whose tumultuous relationships with his many muses have been extensively chronicled, his brother Diego led an exceptionally private life. In the mid-1930s, he met the captivating Nelly Constantin at Le Dôme. Nineteen years old and already the mother of a young child, she soon became the great love of his life. Diego invited her to share his apartment on Rue d’Alésia, and she remained his companion for more than twenty years, playing a central role in his personal life. Although they parted ways in the late 1950s, they remained closely connected until the end. Nelly’s son, Johnny, would later assist Diego in his studios on Rue Hippolyte-Maindron and Rue du Moulin-Vert from the mid-1970s until the artist’s death. During his formative years in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, Giacometti was a devoted visitor to circuses and music halls. These outings inspired a number of his earliest drawings, in which he sought to capture the fleeting dynamism and vibrant energy of acrobats and stage performers. Scholars have linked Giacometti’s fascination with the circus to his exploration of enclosures and spatial frameworks, most notably in works such as La Piste (1931). In these compositions, the pedestal or cage functions as a theatrical stage or circus ring, isolating figures within a defined space and allowing the artist to investigate the viewer’s perception of distance, scale, and spatial relationships.
Unlike Alberto, whose tumultuous relationships with his many muses have been extensively chronicled, his brother Diego led an exceptionally private life. In the mid-1930s, he met the captivating Nelly Constantin at Le Dôme. Nineteen years old and already the mother of a young child, she soon became the great love of his life. Diego invited her to share his apartment on Rue d’Alésia, and she remained his companion for more than twenty years, playing a central role in his personal life. Although they parted ways in the late 1950s, they remained closely connected until the end. Nelly’s son, Johnny, would later assist Diego in his studios on Rue Hippolyte-Maindron and Rue du Moulin-Vert from the mid-1970s until the artist’s death. During his formative years in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, Giacometti was a devoted visitor to circuses and music halls. These outings inspired a number of his earliest drawings, in which he sought to capture the fleeting dynamism and vibrant energy of acrobats and stage performers. Scholars have linked Giacometti’s fascination with the circus to his exploration of enclosures and spatial frameworks, most notably in works such as La Piste (1931). In these compositions, the pedestal or cage functions as a theatrical stage or circus ring, isolating figures within a defined space and allowing the artist to investigate the viewer’s perception of distance, scale, and spatial relationships.