RABAT.- In collaboration with the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation, Musée Mohamed VI d' Art Moderne et Contemporain launched the first major retrospective devoted to the work of Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) in Africa. This unique exhibition is an exceptional opportunity to bring together more than 100 major works by the artist, from the rich collections of the foundation.

The exhibition allows visitors to follow the entire career of one of the greatest masters of art of the twentieth century, from his training in his father’s studio in Switzerland until his latest body of iconic masterpieces. A chronological and thematic progression presents all aspects of the artistic production of Giacometti, addressing the main themes in the artist’s creative thinking.

46 sculptures, 19 paintings, 30 drawings and decorative art objects, along with rich photographic documentation help capture the many aspects of Giacometti’s work. The exhibition unfolds chronologically and thematically in three sections: pre-surrealist and surrealist works, the return to work after nature and issues related to human performance, and the question of the placement of the figure in space.

A unique thematic section highlights the major influence upon Giacometti in his encounter with the arts of Africa, which marks the beginning of his mature work. It is, indeed, thanks to the contact with African art and Egyptian antiquities, seen at the Trocadero Palace, in the Louvre Museum, and in art magazines of that era, that Giacometti developed his first modern aesthetics. Plates, paintings, sculptures, and surreal figures like the bronze patinated Walking Woman illustrate the interweaving of different sources. Such sources remain important throughout his artistic trajectory, which can be traced in the long figures drawn up hieratically on large bases realized between 1950-60.

The exhibition presents, alongside well-known masterpieces such as The Suspended Ball, The Cage, and The Walking Man, unique works and original plasters, including several exceptionally-painted plasters.

A rich gallery of painted portraits and unpublished drawings complement this set.