GIOVANNI GIACOMETTI (1868-1933)

"My life is my art, and my art is my life. This small piece of land surrounded by mountains is the world to me.” Later, Giovanni Giacometti reflects: “Here, in the close vicinity of our mountains, my art found the inspiration and the breeding ground for a whole lifetime.”
Giacometti’s work Capolago, depicting the Cima da Murtaira (2856 m), the Piz Murtaira (2773 m) and the Piz Salacina (2600 m), falls in the period of the artist’s late work. At this point, his painting had freed itself from the expressive manner of short, loosely juxtaposed brushstrokes. The application of paint became lighter and at times almost transparent—the single brushstroke receded in favour of a more two-dimensional effect. Between 1910 and 1920, Giacometti’s landscapes often show elements, for example, houses, trees, and mountains, which are partially cut off the canvas and an invisible horizon, so that the picture, transformed into an interplay of light and shadow and dense colour relationships, could only be explained by careful observation.

We are grateful to Fabio Soldati, founder of PeakFinder, for the help researching this work.