Bouquet de Physalis
Alberto Giacometti
1963-1964
- YEAR:circa 1963-1964
- MEDIUM:Oil on canvas
- DIMENSIONS:42 x 25.5 cm
Introduction
Alberto Giacometti, a key figure in Swiss Surrealism internationally renowned for his thin, elongate sculptures, was also an extraordinary painter. Claiming “art is hidden in nature,” Giacometti often decorated his studio tabletop with flowers, which served as one of the most meaningful subjects in his creations. Bouquet de Physalis was created in the artist’s later years. In this ghostly still life, he depicted flowers that were either wilting or in the process of blooming, using unique loose brushstrokes and floating outlines. He used flowers that were either withered or past their prime, hovering between life and death, as a metaphor for the existential anxieties humans faced after the Second World War. It reveals the artist’s deep reflection on life and death and a enduring quest for the meaning of existence.
