41 - Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966)

Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) After Cézanne: Self-Portrait with a Cap - After Cézanne: Self-Portrait with a Beret [front and back] 1952 Graphite pencil on vellum (double-sided) 33.4 x 25.7 cm Provenance: > Gift from the artist to Tériade > Private bequest from Alice Tériade, 2007 > Private collection, Paris This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Giacometti Committee dated September 2025 (No. AGD 4754) This double-sided drawing offers a fascinating insight into the almost obsessive intellectual and artistic relationship that Alberto Giacometti maintained with the work of Paul Cézanne. Through this dual exercise of copying the self-portraits of the master from Aix, the artist does not seek to imitate, but rather attempts to internalize the subject’s internal structure, volume, and gaze. Giacometti’s technique is perfectly recognizable here: a dense, feverish, and concentrated network of circular lines and incisive strokes that tirelessly seek to capture the truth of the human figure and the density of the face.