In 2005, the Donjon de Vez hosted within its medieval walls fifteen sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, one of the major artists of the 20th century. The exhibition took place over the four levels of the chapel and was conceived as a journey into the depths of a skull. This idea was directly inspired by the metal framework dominating the Eiffel Room, evoking the notion of a cranium shaped like a cage.
The skull—and even more so, the head—appears as an obsession for Giacometti. For the Swiss artist, nothing was more important than the head, which, through the gaze, reveals the life emanating from the human being. The exhibition offered a journey through his work, from his beginnings in Surrealism to the end of his career, culminating in his large, monumental, slender female figures.
- Athis Hourdry - - Soyez
“I have always had the impression or the feeling of the fragility of living beings, as if it took tremendous energy for them to be able to stand upright. I will never manage to put into a portrait all the strength that exists in a head.”
— Alberto Giacometti
View of the exhibition « Alberto Giacometti at the Donjon de Vez », 2005. ( © Succession Giacometti )
Grande femme I, Alberto Giacometti, bronze, 272 × 34.9 × 54 cm, 1958-1960. ( © Jean-Luc Mabit )
Quatre figurines sur piédestal (Version B) (Four figures on a pedestal, version B) , Alberto Giacometti, bronze, 157.5 x 41.5 x 32 cm, 1950-1965. ( © Jean-Luc Mabit )
Le Nez (The nose), Alberto Giacometti, bronze, 80.9 x 70.5 x 40.6 cm, 1947-1949. ( © Jean-Luc Mabit )
Le Nez (The nose), Alberto Giacometti, bronze, 80.9 x 70.5 x 40.6 cm, 1947-1949. ( © Jean-Luc Mabit )
