Pair Painted Plaster Table Lamps After Alberto Giacometti, Tete de Femme

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Pair of painted plaster table lamps after the original by Alberto Giacometti, Tête de Femme, designed circa 1933-1934. A classic … Read more Pair of painted plaster table lamps after the original by Alberto Giacometti, Tête de Femme, designed circa 1933-1934. A classic design with singular presence. Measures: 32 in high to top, 6 in diameter, (figures 20 in high).

Recalling elements of an architectural caryatid, the form of Alberto Giacometti's Tête de femme table lamp simultaneously features an unevenness and softness that reveals the artist's hand. The dark brown patina of the bronze gives the object a subtle richness, whilst enhancing its sculptural quality. The use of bronze also links the lamp to a second classical form, the bust — a theme that preoccupied Giacometti throughout his career.

However, it is the artistic intent behind the object's considered detail and simplicity that gives the modern work its value.

The Tête de femme lamp design was part of the collection of decorative objects that Giacometti created for the influential interior designer Jean-Michel Frank between 1932 and 1940. These objects became integral to the designer's celebrated minimalist interiors, and Frank's fashionable clientele became great admirers of the sculptor's work. Frank positioned Giacometti's lamps and vases prominently throughout his stark interiors, which were renowned for such luxurious materials as leather, marble, ivory and parchment. Translating the spirit of Frank's 'anonymity' of forms and space, Giacometti worked from ancient forms. Giacometti traced the genesis of these forms, emptying them of their meaning, in order to retain only the essential.
Evoking forms from ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian excavations, Giacometti's decorative works reflect his admiration of these civilizations and his study of their utilitarian objects. However, devoid of any direct historical reference, these works retain a sense of mysterious anonymity, allowing the viewer to unconsciously construct the work's form and meaning. See less