Diego Giacometti - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Thursday, June 29, 2017 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Palmiro Polacci
    Thence by descent to the present owner in 2015

  • Literature

    Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 2005, p. 117 (another example illustrated)
    François Françisci, Diego Giacometti, Catalogue de l'œuvre, Paris, 1986, p. 55 (another example 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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192

Le Couple

stamped with the artist's initials and name 'DG DIEGO' on the base
bronze
31.6 x 22.5 x 8.9 cm (12 1/2 x 8 7/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
Executed in 1957.

Estimate
£35,000 - 45,000 

Sold for £81,250

Contact Specialist
Tamila Kerimova
Specialist, Head of Day Sale
+ 44 20 7318 4065
tkerimova@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 30 June 2017