Diego Giacometti - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Monday, June 27, 2016 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Lucien Thinot Collection (1983)
    Private Collection, Europe
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    D. Marchesseu, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1986, p. 113 (another cast illustrated)

  • Artist Biography

    Diego Giacometti

    Swiss • 1902 - 1985

    In 1935 Diego Giacometti took a holiday in Stampa, the Swiss town in which he grew up. The trip marked one of the first periods in which he was separated from his brother Alberto Giacometti, and perhaps in connection with having removed himself from the shadow of his brother's career, he began his first animal sculptures. It was shortly after this trip that the younger Giacometti also started making furniture, after patrons admired the stands he was crafting for his brother's sculptures. Diego modeled his maquettes in plaster (as opposed to clay or wax, which was the more common choice for sculptors) and cast his furniture in bronze, a departure from most metal furniture at the time, which was cast in iron. Illustrious clients included the Maeght and Noailles families as well as the decorator Jean-Michel Frank, who commissioned Alberto (assisted by Diego) to create plaster lighting and fireplace accessories.

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162

Le Couple (Equilibristes)

conceived in 1957
bronze with green and brown patina
height: 24.9 cm (9 3/4 in.)
Signed and monogrammed on the base. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity provided by Gilles Perrault.

Estimate
£40,000 - 60,000 

Sold for £47,500

Contact Specialist
Henry Highley
Head of Sale
+ 44 20 7318 4061

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 28 June 2016