Portrait of the Artistʼs Mother, 1918
Bildnis der Mutter
The most intense drawings of Giacometti’s early years are portraits of either his mother or himself. The debt to Ferdinand Hodler’s compositional principles is impossible to overlook. The symmetrical structure, the cross-shaped arrangement of the nose and eyes, the inner frame, the front-on confrontation with the model and the unconditional dominance of the eyes and gaze remain fundamental to Giacometti’s work right through to the very last heads.
- Material
- Pen in black on paper
- Dimensions
- 25.4 x 19.9 cm
- Creditline
- Kunsthaus Zürich, Collection of Prints and Drawings, Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung, 1981
- Object number
- GS 157
- Signature
- inscr. b. r.: Alberto Giacometti. 1918
- Provenance
-
- Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft | Kunsthaus Zürich (Museum), ab 1981, Leihgabe
- Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung (Sammlung), 1981, Geschenk
- Privatbesitz
- Alberto Giacometti