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Lot Essay
Selbstbildnis mit Hut aus dem Jahr 1908 ist das allererste Selbstporträt von Augusto Giacometti. Das Gemälde ist wesentlich von der Ornamentik des Art Nouveau geprägt, welche er durch seine wiederholten Aufenthalte in Paris aufnahm. Die Bildform des Tondos widerspiegelt die Erlebnisse der Frührenaissance, mit welcher er sich in Italien intensiv auseinandersetzte. Der beinahe goldgelbe Hintergrund und die Pflanzenornamente, welche am oberen und unteren Bildrand ansetzen, werden schon hier formal und farblich auf flächenhafte Formen reduziert und erreichen somit abstrakte Qualitäten. Obwohl Giacometti in seinem ersten Selbstbildnis eine klare stilistische Trennung zwischen Vordergrund - dem Porträt - und Hintergrund herstellt, benutzt er bereits die mosaikartige Spachteltechnik für die Gestaltung des Hintergrunds, durch welche er die lineare Formgebung in seinen späteren Werken ganz ersetzt.
Self-portrait with Hat from 1908 was Augusto Giacometti's very first self-portrait. The painting is strongly influenced by the ornamental style of the Art Nouveau movement that he incorporated into his work during his many stays in Paris. The Tondo form of the painting mirrors the early Renaissance form of experience of which he made an intensive study whilst in Italy. The almost golden yellow background and the plant ornaments that appear in the upper and lower edges of the painting are here reduced in both form and colour to sheer suggestions of form, thereby achieving an abstract quality. While Giacometti makes a clear stylistic distinction between the foreground - the portrait - and the background of the painting in this self-portrait, he is already employing the same mosaic-like spatula technique to create the background that completely replaced any linear creation of form in his later works.
Self-portrait with Hat from 1908 was Augusto Giacometti's very first self-portrait. The painting is strongly influenced by the ornamental style of the Art Nouveau movement that he incorporated into his work during his many stays in Paris. The Tondo form of the painting mirrors the early Renaissance form of experience of which he made an intensive study whilst in Italy. The almost golden yellow background and the plant ornaments that appear in the upper and lower edges of the painting are here reduced in both form and colour to sheer suggestions of form, thereby achieving an abstract quality. While Giacometti makes a clear stylistic distinction between the foreground - the portrait - and the background of the painting in this self-portrait, he is already employing the same mosaic-like spatula technique to create the background that completely replaced any linear creation of form in his later works.