Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966)
Giacometti's most important prints were issued in small editions and are seldom seen at museums or at dealers. Thus, many critics or collectors do not suspect the broad scope of his graphic works. Yet his graphic production covered all the phases and favorite subjects of his career. He produced over 400 lithographs and etchings of varying subject matter spanning from the 1930s through the end of his life - with the majority produced from 1950 to 1965.
The first print catalogue raisonné was published by collector Herbert C. Lust. This was later expanded by art dealer Eberhard W. Kornfeld.
Now, collector and art historian J. S. Dryer, is acquiring lithographs and etchings by Giacometti - as seen below.
Giacometti produced his first prints, wood etchings, alongside his father when he was still a schoolboy. During his life, Giacometti tried his hand at every print technique: wood, engraving, etching, aquatint, and above all, lithography. As a witness at André Breton’s wedding in 1934, he illustrated the anthology offered by the poet to his new wife. Giacometti was a great book lover and friend of many writers and poets. He illustrated several books including: René Crevel, Les Pieds dans le Plat, 1933, Georges Bataille, Histoire de rats, 1947, Michel Leiris, Vivantes cendres, innommées, 1961, and René Char, Retour Amont, 1965. Beginning in 1951, he created lithographs published by the Maeght Gallery. Giacometti favored disseminating his work through quality editions. To create lithographs he utilized transfer paper and lithographic pencils or crayons to create his drawings. He would leave his studio, walk through Paris, and sketch directly from life. These forays would later be the subject of Paris sans fin, a collection of 150 prints commissioned by the publisher Tériade, on which Giacometti worked from 1959 on, but which was not published until after his premature death.
