.Maeght Foundation - The Giacometti Court

Alberto Giacometti is one of the most visible artists at the Foundation. Brought together thanks to the generosity of the sculptor, the Foundation's collection is one of the most important in the world. The Maeght Foundation is the only collection to have both versions of The Walking Man.

At the end of the war, Giacometti's work, marked by surrealism, had not yet taken off. Most of the artists live in the Montparnasse district. Giacometti is based on rue Hippolyte Maindron, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Like other artists, he likes to frequent the bars of rue Vavin and the famous brasserie La Coupole . Aimé met him before the war, but it was not until 1947 that he was introduced to him by André Breton during the surrealism exhibition.

DLM accompanying the first Alberto Giacometti exhibition at the Galerie Maeght in 1950.

The first Giacometti exhibition at the Galerie Maeght took place in 1950, it included sculptures and paintings made before the war as well as some recent drawings. The New York Times and The Art Digest praised the event. Paris is still the capital of the art world. This exhibition marks a new beginning for Giacometti. His art is finally perceived to its true extent

Alberto Giacometti and Aimé Maeght at the Maeght Gallery

The Giacometti exhibitions take place approximately every two years at the Galerie Maeght. He produced his first lithographs on zinc, to illustrate Derrière Le Miroir , the texts of which were signed Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Genet and Olivier Larronde.

In 1959, for a project for a square in New York, a project which did not come to fruition, Giacometti imagined a Walking Man , a Standing Woman and a Head of Diego on a base, which summed up, for him, all his research.

Alberto Giacometti and Josep-Lluis Sert at the Maeght Foundation in 1964.
Aimé Maeght offers his friend the opportunity to occupy the courtyard of the Foundation which is under construction under the direction of the Catalan architect Josep-Lluis Sert. Giacometti, by observing Egyptian statuary and the work of Rodin, understood that the walking man is one of the most important themes in the history of sculpture.
Alberto Giacometti inspects the arrangement of his sculptures in the Giacometti Courtyard, moments before the inauguration of the Foundation, July 28, 1964.

The Giacometti courtyard is dominated by the main building and its pagoda-shaped roofs, symbol of the Foundation. Ingenious screens bring natural light to the town hall. The courtyard hosts Foundation Nights, concerts and large evenings.

The two versions of The Walking Man held by the Maeght Foundation are exceptional works, because, instead of a patina, the bronzes are painted by Alberto Giacometti.
Alberto Giacometti and his sculptures Women of Venice in the Giacometti Courtyard, July 1964.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0515/0844/5373/files/la_place_Giacometti.jpg?v=1657103764
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0515/0844/5373/files/Cour_Giacometti_TOP.jpg?v=1622929145
Women of Venice , 1956, bronzes, each approximately 120 cm high.

Alberto Giacometti at the Maeght Foundation, 1964

The large standing women, with a height of over 270 cm, are the largest Giacometti sculptures ever made.

Alberto Giacometti is setting up his exhibition in the Maeght Gallery, with Femme Debout and L'Homme Qui Marche.

Alberto Giacometti in his Parisian studio.


Yoyo Maeght alongside The Walking Man by Alberto Giacometti in the courtyard of the Maeght Foundation.

Magnificent, The Man Who Walks in the Fog.

The collection of works by Alberto Giacometti at the Maeght Foundation includes 35 sculptures, including rare bronzes from the 1930s such as The Cube, The Spoon Woman and the Invisible Object . 30 drawings, portraits or studies for sculptures. Engravings and lithographs complete this remarkable collection.

Behind Le Miroir special inauguration of the Maeght Foundation in 1964.

Portrait of Aimé Maeght by Alberto Giacometti

An exceptional document, Francis Bacon, poses with The Walking Man by Alberto Giacometti, at the Maeght Foundation.