阿爾伯托·賈克梅蒂

Galerie Maeght, Paris

Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris

Acquired from the above by the family of the present owner in February 1969

Venice, XXXI Biennale Internazionale d'Arte, 1962, no. 78

Zurich, Kunsthaus, Alberto Giacometti, 1962-63, no. 95

Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, Alberto Giacometti, Paris, 1984, no. 212, illustratedp. 148

L'Atelier d'Alberto Giacometti (exhibition catalogue), Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 2007-08, no. 242, fig. 250, colour illustration of the plaster p. 154

Brown patina with golden highlights due to handling, most notably around the neck. Apart from three very tiny spots of patina loss at the bottom of the base to the rear, this work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The subject of the present portrait is Isaku Yanaihara, a Japanese professor of philosophy whom Giacometti met in 1956. Yanaihara had translated Albert Camus’ L’Etranger into Japanese, and travelled to Paris with the intention of meeting French Existentialist writers and artists. During the first sittings Giacometti struggled to capture his model’s likeness, however the present work, executed during Yanaihara’s last visit to Paris in 1961, reflects the confidence the sculptor gained while continuously working with the sitter over the years.

 

Yves Bonnefoy wrote about the acquaintance between the two men: ‘Isaku Yanaihara, who had come to France to meet Jean-Paul Sartre, had been advised by the philosopher to meet the sculptor. An enigmatic attachment quickly developed between them, and Yanaihara sat for Giacometti in 1956 and 1957, returning to Europe especially for Giacometti’s work on his portraits again in 1959, 1960, and even 1961. There were countless sittings by day and by night, departures from Paris were regularly postponed as the work in progress failed to reach completion. The painter found likeness constantly escaping him, which caused him terrible anguish’ (Y. Bonnefoy, AlbertoGiacometti: A Biography of his Work, Paris, 1991, 447). Eventually Giacometti completed several painted portraits of his sitter, including large scale oils in the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as several bronze busts.

 

Discussing the two sculpted version of Yanaihara’s portrait, Véronique Wiesinger wrote: ‘Extremely rare documentation of the execution of two busts of the Japanese model Isaku Yanaihara in 1960 and 1961, almost sitting by sitting, exists thanks to photographs taken by the sitter and by Annette Giacometti, then discussed in letters. The first bust was sent for casting the day after the sitter’s departure, the other was worked on from memory for seven days before Giacometti had it cast. […] In the 1961 bust [the present work], the modelling is more caressing, the features smooth and serene – Giacometti delicately patted the curls of hair behind the head with his fingers, leaving light fingerprints. Study of the photos taken by Yanaihara during the sittings shows that the bust was first built up by working the face and collar, the head bent forward, then the neck was swiftly straightened; the face is marked on the forehead by horizontal and diagonal lines’ (V. Wiesinger in L’Atelier d’Alberto Giacometti (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., p. 151).

Although this work is numbered 4/6, it was the only bronze from this edition that was actually cast. The plaster of Buste de Yanaihara (II) is at the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti in Paris.