Alberto Giacometti

ALBERTO GIACOMETTI (Borgonovo, Switzerland, 1901 – Chur, Switzerland, 1966).
Original zinc plate for the lithograph “Buste sur sellette dans l’atelier,” 1954.
Based on a drawing from 1951.
Zinc lithographic plate.
Signature “A. Giacometti” integrated into the transferred drawing, in the lower right corner.
Printer of the edition: Atelier Mourlot, Paris.
Publisher: Maeght Éditeur, Paris.
Bibliography: Eberhard W. Kornfeld and Fondation Giacometti, Alberto Giacometti. Catalogue Raisonné of Prints. Volume I – 1917–1957/1958, Paris/Bern, Fondation Giacometti/Éditions Galerie Kornfeld, 2016, cat. 95/I.
Measurements: 54 × 70 cm (plate); 77 × 92 cm (frame).

The fact that this is an original plate makes this piece a unique testament to Alberto Giacometti’s printmaking process, directly linked to *Buste sur sellette dans l’atelier*, one of his depictions of his studio and the sculptures within it. Based on a drawing from 1951, the lithograph was published in 1954 by Maeght Éditeur and printed at the Atelier Mourlot in Paris—two pivotal figures in the print production of the postwar European avant-garde.

The catalog raisonné of Giacometti’s prints, compiled by Eberhard W. Kornfeld in collaboration with the Fondation Giacometti, documents the composition and specifically notes the existence of its zinc plate, which was then held in a private collection in Copenhagen. The same source records the signature “A. Giacometti” within the transferred drawing and a main edition of thirty signed and numbered copies, in addition to five hors commerce copies and various proofs.

The motif belongs to one of the most characteristic themes of the artist’s mature period. During the 1950s, the modest studio on Rue Hippolyte-Maindron took on an increasingly prominent role in his drawings and prints: sculptures, furniture, easels, and work surfaces formed a space in which Giacometti explored the perception of objects and, above all, the complex relationship between the figure and the space surrounding it. In this composition, the bust placed on the sellette embodies precisely this quest, transforming a studio scene into a reflection on distance, scale, and presence.

The very nature of the lot lends it particular significance: unlike the prints on paper belonging to the edition, this plate is the physical medium from which the lithographic image was produced. Its documentation in the catalog raisonné, its connection to Maeght and Mourlot, and its link to a central iconography in Giacometti’s work place the piece within a particularly exclusive sphere of his graphic output.

Alberto Giacometti occupies a central position in 20th-century art. Following his Surrealist period, he undertook a radical exploration of the human figure, perception, and space in the postwar years, an exploration that found intense expression in sculpture as well as in drawing and printmaking. In 1951, the year of the drawing that gave rise to *Buste sur sellette dans l’atelier*, he began his collaboration with the Galerie Maeght, which proved decisive for the development and dissemination of his lithographic work. His international recognition was cemented by major exhibitions in Europe and the United States and by the Grand Prize for Sculpture at the 1962 Venice Biennale. His work is included in leading international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate in London, and the Kunsthaus Zürich.