Diego Giacometti

Hélène Rochas collection, Paris, acquired directly from the artist

Thence by descent

Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 123

Françoise Francisci, Diego Giacometti, Catalogue de l'oeuvre, Paris, 1986, p. 73

Jacqueline Von Sprecher, Diego Giacometti tritt aus dem Schatten, Zürich, 2007, p. 105

Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti Sculpteur de meubles, Paris, 2018, p. 46-47 and p. 174-175

The Pommeaux de Canne armchairs presented here rank among Diego Giacometti’s most pared-down creations. Setting aside the animal motifs that are so central to his oeuvre, the artist reduces his vocabulary to its very essence: a bronze structure of remarkable precision, in which slender, elongated uprights form a light architectural framework, punctuated by understated spherical finials that appear as the natural culmination of each line, together with a single discreet spherical motif that subtly enlivens the composition. Nothing here is superfluous; the harmony arises from the perfect balance of proportions and the subtle interplay of lines. Yet this formal restraint is accompanied by a profoundly vibrant materiality. Above all, Diego Giacometti remained a sculptor, and every element was modelled by his own hand, preserving the minute irregularities of his gesture in the surface of the bronze. Far from seeking mechanical perfection, he allowed the sensitivity of his touch to remain visible, while a patina of exceptional subtlety animates the surfaces with delicate variations of light. This tension between the precision of the structure and the vitality of the sculpted surface endows the model with a singular presence. One of the two pairs presented here comes from the collection of Hélène Rochas, one of Diego Giacometti’s most devoted patrons. Like Hubert de Givenchy, Aimé Maeght and Marc Barbezat, she belonged to the select circle of collectors with whom the artist cultivated relationships founded on genuine mutual trust and shared aesthetic sensibilities. This close relationship continued with her son, François Rochas, who acquired a second pair of the model directly from Diego in 1980. Through their refined austerity, the precision of their lines and the delicacy of their modelling, the Pommeaux de Canne armchairs perfectly illustrate Diego Giacometti’s extraordinary ability to achieve elegance through a masterful balance of proportion and restraint.

Work authenticated in accordance with the process established by the Diego Giacometti Estate

© ADAGP, Paris, 2026