In ‘La Cage’, Giacometti further developed his exploration of the relationship to reality, by rendering visible the boundary between the internal space of the imagination and external reality in the work of art.

The male head growing out of the block bears the same relationship to the whole as the self-portrait carved into the ‘Cube’ (see GS 025); the woman, indicated by the base as an imaginary figure, passes before his inner eye – a relationship that is given special clarity here by the application of paint. Thus the cage distils and internalizes the similar Surrealist constructions and their psycho-mechanical content.

Material

Bronze, painted

Dimensions

178 x 39.5 x 38.5 cm

Creditline

Kunsthaus Zürich, Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung, 1965

Object number

GS 042

Signature

inscribed and numbered on back of central cuboid, upper left: 1/6 A. Giacometti; below: Alexis Rudier. Fondeur Paris

Further information

Ex. 1/6

Provenance

• frühestens ab 1965, Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft | Kunsthaus Zürich (Museum), Zürich, Leihgabe
• frühestens ab 1965, Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung (Sammlung), Zürich, Übernahme
• 1963 – mindestens bis 1965, Alberto Giacometti-Syndikat, Kauf
• 1963, Galerie Beyeler (Galerie), Basel, Kauf
• 1955 – o.D., G. David Thompson (*1899 Newark, OH, +1965 Pittsburgh, PA) (Sammler/-in), Pittsburgh
• Pierre Matisse Gallery (Galerie), New York
• Alberto Giacometti (*1901 Borgonovo bei Stampa, +1966 Chur) (Künstler/-in)