Alberto Giacometti

ALBERTO GIACOMETTI (Switzerland, 1901-1966)
"Nadveren" (L'homme qui pointe dans l'atelier), 1951
Original zinc plate with the artist's drawing for lithography.
Edited and printed with this same zinc plate in 1954.
Provenance: Peter Brandes collection.
Exhibited at the Johannes Larsen Museum (Kerteminde, Fyn, Denmark).
Measurements: 37 x 53 cm (design); 54 x 70 cm (plate); 67 x 83 cm (frame).

Exceptional original zinc plate directly intervened by Alberto Giacometti for the realization of a lithograph, linked to the composition Nadveren (The dinner), one of the recurring themes in his exploration of space and figure. The image, constructed with a nervous, repetitive and highly characteristic stroke, depicts a workshop interior in which the figures emerge fragmented and elongated, in full coherence with his post-war plastic language.

The work is a direct testimony of the artist's creative process, where the accumulation of lines and continuous corrections reveals his insistent search for the human presence. This procedure, central to Giacometti's practice, places the piece at the core of his research on perception and existence.

As the original matrix used for the 1954 edition, the plate has a singular and rare character on the market, as it preserves intact the artist's direct intervention and is situated at the material origin of his graphic work. These types of pieces, halfway between drawing and printmaking, are of special interest both for their rarity and their proximity to the creative gesture.

Their provenance from the collection of Peter Brandes and their exhibition at the Johannes Larsen Museet reinforce their relevance within a curatorial context focused on the modern reinterpretation of Nadveren's theme, in dialogue with artists of different generations.

Alberto Giacometti is one of the essential figures of 20th century art, initially associated with surrealism and later recognized for his unmistakable sculptural and graphic language. His work is part of the collections of internationally renowned institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Fondation Giacometti.