Alberto Giacometti (pronounced "jocko-metty") is the artist I have chosen for our October artist. He was born October 10, 1901 in an Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. He came from an artistic background. His father was a well known painter from the Post-Impressionist period. Alberto was the oldest of four children. He was especially close to his younger brother, Diego. From the age of 14, he made many portrait busts using Diego as his model - a bust is a sculpture of a person's head and shoulders. So you see from the beginning, he was interested in art.
The image you see above is from the archives of LIFE magazine, which first appeared on January 1, 1966. It shows Giacometti with several of his sculptures.
He was a Swiss painter, draftsman, printmaker, and sculptor. I think I like his Surrealistic sculptures the best. He is famous for his elongated human forms. Since we have been studying 3D in both 4th and 5th grades, I thought you might like to see some of his sculptures.
Man Striding
Three Men Walking II
Nose 1947
Cat
In Bust de Diego (below), Giacometti shows his brother (who was not only his friend but also his assistant and critic). He shaped clay to make the figure and later cast the form in bronze.
He died January 11, 1966 at the age of 64, but left many wonderful art pieces behind for all of us to enjoy today.
