PARIS.- During the Biennale des Antiquaires, Artcurial will gather collectors from around the world in Paris at 8pm on 14th September 2016 for its sale, A 20 year friendship with Diego Giacometti: Brollo Collection. A public exhibition will be organised in the 10 days leading up to the auction and will offer a panoramic vision of the artist’s work. One will be able to discover 16 pieces of bronze furniture including 3 by Alberto Giacometti, and also preparatory plaster casts and prototype elements including a rare ceiling light. Finally, a never-before-seen photographic report will be on show. It was made by Frédéric Brollo, the collector’s son, between 1979 and 1984, and allows us to discover Diego Giacometti at work in the intimate environment of his Parisian workshop. All of these elements will be beautifully and poetically set up by Hubert Le Gall.

“To offer such a complete private collection at auction is a real privilege. This collection enables us to trace the steps of the artist’s work and also observe the relationship he developed with the collector couple in the intimate setting of his atelier. The exhibition will highlight the 20 year friendship between Diego Giacometti and Éliane and Daniel Brollo, thanks to the photo report made by their son, Frédéric Brollo. This rare footage of the artist at work in his atelier reminds us of the Constantin Brancusi auction with works from the collection belonging to Alexandre Istrati and Natalia Dumitresco, which we organised in 2010.” --Bruno Jaubert, Director Modern Art department, Artcurial

The Biennale des Antiquaires is the occasion for Artcurial to show its cultural commitment alongside collectors. The sale, A 20 year friendship with Diego Giacometti: Brollo Collection, under the hammer of Francis Briest, traces the strong relationship between a couple of collectors, Éliane and Daniel Brollo, their son, Frédéric Brollo, and the artist, Diego Giacometti, in Paris, between 1965 and 1985.

Diego Giacometti met Éliane and Daniel Brollo for the first time shortly after his brother Alberto’s death. Up until this time, he worked as an art caster in his elder brother’s shadow and didn’t yet have an international following.

A friendly and artistic meeting
Diego Giacometti worked in the same Parisian atelier at 46 rue Hippolyte-Maindron, in the 14th arrondissement, throughout his whole life. At first he worked alongside his brother and later alone. Here, he breathed life into metal, transforming bronze into furniture and marvellous sculptures. The material enabled him to express minute details thanks to its elasticity. He was passionate about nature and animals often crept into his furniture. He liked to portray familiar animals, just like the little mice climbing up the table legs of the two hairdresser stools estimated at 200 000 – 300 000 € / 220 000 – 330 000 $ and also wild animals which symbolise force, power and beauty like the lion heads on the pair of armchairs estimated at 150 000 – 200 000 € / 165 000 – 220 000 $.

Over the years, the Brollo couple acquired several bronze furniture pieces from the artist whose talent they not only greatly admired but with whom they also shared a profound friendship based on their Italian origins. Artcurial will auction off 16 pieces on 14th September including three which were made for Alberto Giacometti like the lamp body or female head from 1933 made from green patina bronze and estimated at 100 000 – 150 000 € / 110 000 – 165 000 $. All the works were acquired directly from the artist himself by the collectors but as a symbol of their mutual appreciation, the artist also gave them a few.

Frédéric Brollo reminisces, “I remember that Diego is not a big talker but I enjoy inviting him to speak of its mountains. One evening he tells me his climb of the Matterhorn and his joy when he arrived at the top. I am fascinated to this warned and passionate mountain... Diego love talking about animals in general, and especially the animals of the mountains of his childhood which inspired his works. There is always a small or a great place to make a nod to life as he said, with here and there a marmot, a chamois or a deer, an owl, a bird, a horse, a cat, a dog , a mouse, or a turtle, an ostrich or lions ...!”

The appeal of the collection comes from its diversity including lights, chairs, armchairs, tables, coffee tables and decorative objects. Highlights include a coffee table from 1955 estimated at 80 000 – 120 000 € / 88 000 – 132 000 $, a pair of chandeliers with horse’s head estimated at 80 000 – 120 000 € / 88 000 – 132 000 $ and a maître d’hôtel cat from 1961 made from a brown-red patina estimated at 50 000 – 70 000 € / 55 000 – 77 000 $.

At the heart of the creation:
Plaster casts
The auction will also include a series of plaster casts given by the artist to Frédéric Brollo. Around ten models, prototypes and forms will be sold, demonstrating the creative process and the methods carried out by Diego Giacometti. Highlights include parts of a cross-beam coffee table, estimated at 6 000 – 8 000 € / 6 600 – 8 800 $ and finished models like a chandelier with four branches and cone lighting estimated at 40 000 – 60 000 € / 44 000 – 66 000 $, all of which are made using plaster casts by the artist on a metal frame. These works will also be beautifully displayed by the designer, Hubert Le Gall.

An unseen view into
the creativity intimacy of the sculptor.
In order to understand the work of Diego Giacometti and the story behind the Brollo collection and the artist, Artcurial will present unseen photographic documents taken by Frédéric Brollo between 1979 and 1984. The photos reveal the intimacy of Diego Giacometti at work in his Parisian atelier.

The collector’s son was 17 years old at the time and passionate about photography. He spent time with Diego Giacometti from a young age and delved into his daily life. With his camera, tripod and light in tow, he began taking photos of the sculptor in his atelier. Amongst the dust, cobwebs and plaster casts, the photographer reveals a serene and concentrated artist amongst a cave filled with tools, notes pinned to the walls, half-finished sculptures and plaster mould.

“I remember his amazing hands which looked like those of a blacksmith, carefully manipulating iron wire, with lightness and precision, with the help of pliers and tools, and covering it all with plaster and tow. He was the only one to imagine the results of the incredible compositions. He had the golden ration in his head. He was keen to attain the right proportion and this is what guided him. Diego had precise gestures even at the end of his life when his eyesight was deteriorating.” explained Frédéric Brollo.