Bust
Alberto Giacometti
Swiss, 1901–1966
1952
A lithograph in which Giacometti sketches two busts with agitated, overlapping lines, aiming to capture the fragile presence of human heads rather than a precise likeness.
What strikes you is the restless, sketchlike economy of the marks—the heads emerging from repeated, trembling strokes within a roughly drawn rectangular frame that makes them feel both present and spectral.
By translating his sculptural concerns into print, Giacometti revealed how thin, repeated line could express postwar anxieties about existence and helped shift modern art toward an emphasis on the precariousness of the human figure.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
composition: 14 5/8 x 20 11/16" (37.2 x 52.5 cm); sheet: 19 11/16 x 25 13/16" (50 x 65.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Larry Aldrich Fund
Accession
259.1952
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
