L'Homme qui marche I
Encyclopedia
L’Homme qui marche I (The Walking Man I, lit. The Man who Walks I) is the name of any one of the cast bronze sculpture
s that comprise six numbered editions plus four artist proofs created by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti
in 1961. On 3 February 2010, the second edition of the cast of the sculpture became one of the most expensive works of art ever sold at auction, and the most expensive sculpture.
In 1960, Giacometti was asked to be part of a public project by the Chase Manhattan Plaza
in New York to plant bronze figures outside the building. He created several sculptures, with L'Homme qui marche I among them. Giacometti struggled with the project and eventually abandoned the commission. However, in 1961 he cast the life-size work in bronze and exhibited it at the Venice Biennale
a year later. L'Homme Qui Marche I was created at the high point of Giacometti's mature period and represents the pinnacle of his experimentation with the human form. The piece is considered to be one of the most important works by the artist and one of the most iconic images of Modern art.
Edition number one of the sculpture is located at the Carnegie Museum of Art
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. Edition number two belongs in a private collection. Other casts of L'Homme qui marche I include those at the Fondation Maeght
in Saint-Paul, Alpes-Maritimes
and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
in Buffalo, NY.
auction house in London. The piece was sold by German banking group Commerzbank
, which had acquired it when it took over the Dresdner Bank
in 2009. The sale of the sculpture marked the first time in 20 years that a life-size Giacometti figure of a walking man came to auction.
It had been estimated to sell for between £12 and £18 million, but in just eight minutes the sculpture was bought by Lily Safra
, widow of the prominent Lebanese
banker Edmond Safra
for £58 million. Including the buyer's premium
the price reached £65 million (US$103.7 million).
The piece broke the record for a Giacometti work at auction, which was set at $27.5 million by Grande Femme Debout II in 2008, and that for the most expensive sculpture sold at a public auction, which was held by the 5000-year-old Guennol Lioness
, sold at Sotheby's in 2007 for $57.2 m. When expressed in British pounds and when inflation
is ignored, the bronze also broke the record price for an art work sold at auction which, since 2004, was held at $104.2 million (then £58.2 m) by Pablo Picasso
's Garçon à la pipe
. The most expensive work of art sold at a public auction remained Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet
, which was bought in May 1990 for $82.5 million (approx. $138.4 million in CPI
-adjusted 2010 US dollars), while Jackson Pollock
's No. 5, 1948
, which was privately sold for $140 million in 2006 (approx. $151 million in 2010 dollars), remained the most expensive work of art sold overall.
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
s that comprise six numbered editions plus four artist proofs created by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
in 1961. On 3 February 2010, the second edition of the cast of the sculpture became one of the most expensive works of art ever sold at auction, and the most expensive sculpture.
The sculpture
The bronze sculpture depicts a lone man in mid-stride with his arms hanging at his side. The piece is described as "both a humble image of an ordinary man, and a potent symbol of humanity". Giacometti is said to have viewed "the natural equilibrium of the stride" as a symbol of "man's own life force".In 1960, Giacometti was asked to be part of a public project by the Chase Manhattan Plaza
One Chase Manhattan Plaza
One Chase Manhattan Plaza is a banking skyscraper located in the downtown Manhattan Financial District of New York City, between Pine, Liberty, Nassau, and William Streets. Construction on the building was completed in 1961...
in New York to plant bronze figures outside the building. He created several sculptures, with L'Homme qui marche I among them. Giacometti struggled with the project and eventually abandoned the commission. However, in 1961 he cast the life-size work in bronze and exhibited it at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
a year later. L'Homme Qui Marche I was created at the high point of Giacometti's mature period and represents the pinnacle of his experimentation with the human form. The piece is considered to be one of the most important works by the artist and one of the most iconic images of Modern art.
Edition number one of the sculpture is located at the Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie Museum of Art
The Carnegie Museum of Art, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an art museum founded in 1895 by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Edition number two belongs in a private collection. Other casts of L'Homme qui marche I include those at the Fondation Maeght
Fondation Maeght
Fondation Maeght is a museum of modern art situated in Saint-Paul de Vence in the south of France about 25km from Nice. It was founded by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght in 1964 and houses paintings, sculptures, collages, ceramics and all forms of modern art....
in Saint-Paul, Alpes-Maritimes
Saint-Paul, Alpes-Maritimes
Saint-Paul or Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, it is well-known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries such as Fondation Maeght which is located nearby.The property...
and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
in Buffalo, NY.
Auction
On 3 February 2010, edition number two of the sculpture came up for auction at Sotheby'sSotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
auction house in London. The piece was sold by German banking group Commerzbank
Commerzbank
Commerzbank AG is the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.-Activities:Commerzbank is mainly active in commercial bank, retail banking and mortgaging. It suffered reversals in investment banking in early 2000s and scaled back its Securities unit...
, which had acquired it when it took over the Dresdner Bank
Dresdner Bank
Dresdner Bank AG was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was based in Frankfurt. It was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in December 2009.- 19th century :...
in 2009. The sale of the sculpture marked the first time in 20 years that a life-size Giacometti figure of a walking man came to auction.
It had been estimated to sell for between £12 and £18 million, but in just eight minutes the sculpture was bought by Lily Safra
Lily Safra
Lily Safra is a Brazilian-Monegasque philanthropist and social figure who attained considerable wealth after four marriages. Her net worth is estimated at $1 billion, ranking her as the 701st richest person in the world according to Forbes in 2009...
, widow of the prominent Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
banker Edmond Safra
Edmond Safra
Edmond J. Safra was a Jewish Brazilian-naturalized, Lebanese banker who continued the family tradition of banking in Lebanon, Brazil and Switzerland. He married Lily Watkins. He died in a fire that attracted wide media interest and was judicially determined to be due to arson.-Life of Edmond...
for £58 million. Including the buyer's premium
Buyer's Premium
In auctions, the buyer's premium is a percentage additional charge on the hammer price of the lot. It is made by the auctioneer to cover 'administrative expenses'....
the price reached £65 million (US$103.7 million).
The piece broke the record for a Giacometti work at auction, which was set at $27.5 million by Grande Femme Debout II in 2008, and that for the most expensive sculpture sold at a public auction, which was held by the 5000-year-old Guennol Lioness
Guennol Lioness
The Guennol Lioness is a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian statue found near Baghdad, Iraq. Depicting a well-muscled anthropomorphic lioness, it sold for $57.2 million at Sotheby's auction house on December 5, 2007...
, sold at Sotheby's in 2007 for $57.2 m. When expressed in British pounds and when inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
is ignored, the bronze also broke the record price for an art work sold at auction which, since 2004, was held at $104.2 million (then £58.2 m) by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
's Garçon à la pipe
Garçon à la pipe
Garçon à la Pipe is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1905 when Picasso was 24 years old, during his Rose Period, soon after he settled in the Montmartre section of Paris, France...
. The most expensive work of art sold at a public auction remained Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet
Portrait of Dr. Gachet
Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, who took care of him during the final months of his life...
, which was bought in May 1990 for $82.5 million (approx. $138.4 million in CPI
Consumer price index
A consumer price index measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI, in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of...
-adjusted 2010 US dollars), while Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
's No. 5, 1948
No. 5, 1948
No. 5, 1948 is a painting by Jackson Pollock, an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. The painting was done on an 8' × 4' sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance. It was...
, which was privately sold for $140 million in 2006 (approx. $151 million in 2010 dollars), remained the most expensive work of art sold overall.