Paris through Alberto Giacometti’s eyes
Alberto Giacometti | Untitled, illustration 31, in the book Paris sans fin; 1969 | Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco | Art © Alberto Giacometti Estate/Licensed by VAGA and ARS, New York, NY | This work of art is protected by copyright and/or related rights and may not be reproduced in any manner, except as permitted under the ARTstor Digital Library Terms and Conditions of Use, without the prior express written authorization of VAGA, 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2820, New York, NY 10118. Tel.: 212-736-6666; Fax: 212-736-6767; Email: info@vagarights.com.
Alberto Giacometti moved from his native Switzerland to Paris as a young man in 1922 and lived there almost uninterruptedly until his death in 1966. He fell in love with the city and enjoyed wandering through its streets aimlessly, relishing the unexpected adventures that would ensue, like meeting fellow flâneurs such as Jean-Paul Sartre or Samuel Beckett, or even being struck by a car – an accident that led him to walk with a cane for years afterwards, but one that he credited as a positive turning point in his life.
In 1957, Giacometti set about to depict the Paris he thrived in, from the city’s unhurried cafes to its car-congested boulevards, as well as his own studio, crammed with works in progress. He created a series of 150 lithographs, capturing the immediacy of his impressions on specially prepared papers that were later transferred to lithographic stones for printing. Giacometti completed the series five years later, and the book was published posthumously in 1969 as Paris sans fin(Paris Forever).
Search the ARTstor Digital Library for Paris sans fin to find high-quality images of every lithograph in the edition, as well as the book cover, from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Collection.
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