Alberto Giacometti – Beyond Bronze: Masterworks in Plaster and Other Materials

Fifty years after the passing of Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), this major new monograph illuminates the fundamental aspects of his oeuvre and technique in sculpture. It is based on years of extensive research and restoration work on seventy-five plasters that came to the collection of Kunsthaus Zürich as a bequest from Bruno Giacometti, Alberto’s youngest brother.

For Giacometti, plaster was of great importance as a material, far more than just an intermediate stage between clay model and bronze cast. It allowed him to paint or rework his objects in a vast variety of ways. A significant number of his sculptures indeed exist just in a plaster version. Featuring masterpieces from every stage of his career, this book focuses on Giacometti’s artistic approach to the material nature of his chosen media, offering an insight into the creative process of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists. With the plasters as a core, the selection comprises also works in other materials, such as marble, wood and bronze.