Sculptor, painter, draftsman, writer, Swiss-born Alberto Giacometti moved to Paris in 1922 and lived and worked there while studying under the great sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. He would ultimately become one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century, celebrated for his skinny statues. And a display of a very special group of those skinny statues is currently underway, special for they depict his devoted wife. Her name was Annette. Annette Arm met Giacometti in Geneva in 1942 and became his wife in 1949. From 1946, she joined Giacometti in Paris to live with him in a drafty and frugal lodging rue Hippolyte-Maindron and stayed there until the end of the artist’s life. She would become one of Alberto’s favorite models. 

From 1966 to 1993, Annette Giacometti devoted her whole life to the defense of her husband’s œuvre, prepared a complete database of her husband’s authentic works and fought endlessly against the counterfeiting of Giacometti’s works. She was instrumental in the creation of the Fondation Giacometti which was created in 2003, 10 years after her death at the age of 70.   The Fondation Giacometti is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Annette, who was born in 1923 and the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Foundation.

The show, entitled Annette, en plus infiniment, Annette Infinitely, explores the various facets of this extraordinary woman through a rich selection of sculptures, paintings, drawings, engravings , photographs and archives and underscores the essential role that Annette played in the work, life and heritage of the artist. The exhibition also offers an insight into the Parisian artistic landscape of the post-war period through photographs, letters and comments. But it is above all a long look into how the artist portrayed his wife in sculptures, paintings or drawings always in the same position, bust, sitting or standing but with a remarkable variety of versions. 

The Fondation Giacometti Institut is in the heart of the Montparnasse district of Paris where the 20th century artist also had his home and studio albeit in a different location. The Fondation Giacometti is located in a beautiful building where the exhibition spaces enable the visitor to dialogue with the art works. The Fondation is also a center for the study of art history dedicated to modern art techniques. Guided tours of the temporary exhibition and of Giacometti’s reconstructed studio are available in English on Sundays. Workshops are all on the agenda as well. Reservations are recommended. The Annette exhibition is running until September 27th. Admission is free of charge on the European Heritage Days, September 16th and September 17th. The next exhibition at the Foundation, devoted to the nose, opens on October 7th. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. https://www.fondation-giacometti.fr/en 5 rue Victor-Schoelcher, 75014 Paris, France, +33 (0)1 44 54 52 44