Alberto Giacometti

 

Long, threadlike and angular, Alberto's sculputers remind one of the granite mountains of Bregaglia that seem to endlessly reach upwards into the blue sky. His work also reveals the fragility of man and the toughness of those that lived in the shadow of the mountains.
Perhaps not everyone knows, that the famous artist's portrait is printed on the 100. Swiss Franc bill and that in 1901, Alberto Giacometti was born in the village of Borgonovo in Bregaglia.
Thanks to his father, Giovanni Giacometti, and his godfather, Cuno Amiet, both well-know painters, Alberto was already exposed to art at an early age. Alberto became famous in Paris, where he worked since 1922 with his brother Diego Giacometti. While experimenting with cubism and surrealism, Alberto became internationally renowned for his surrealist work.
Despite his success and well-known friends (Picasso, Mirò and Sartre, among others), he often returned home, to Bregaglia. In his atelier, in Stampa, local people modeled for him, including the waitress of the local restaurant he frequented and members of his family. The great sculpor and painter died in 1966 and now he rests in peace, near his parents, in his hometown's cemetery.

Alberto's atelier is located near the Museum Ciäsa Grande in Stampa. His entire family is buried in the San Giorgio cemetery in Borgonovo.

Walking through Bregaglia Valley and observing its varied mountain landscapes and people definitely helps to better understand the work of this great artist.
Copyright: Paola Salvioni-Martini