New Way of Seeing – Return to Figuration and Years of Crisis

1935–1945

Giacometti’s decision to make figurative heads triggers his expulsion from the Surrealist group in 1935. He works daily d’après modèle in his studio on heads of Diego and of Rita Gueyfier, a professional model. Isabel Delmer, to whom he is romantically attached, also poses for two sculptures. Giacometti establishes new friendships and becomes interested in Merleau-Ponty’s studies about the phenomenology of visual perception.
One evening Giacometti sees his girlfriend Isabel from afar on the Boulevard Saint-Michel, an experience that will lead to his attempts to capture the appearance of human presence at great distance.