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Lot Essay
The present work is a drawing after André Derain's Buste d’arlequin (fig. 1). Giacometti and Derain were close friends, and the former openly admitted to admiring Derain's work.
The first owner of this work, Isabel Rawsthorne, had modeled for Derain after being spotted at the Dôme café near the Boulevard Montparnasse in Paris, and it was in this same location that she first caught the attention of Giacometti. According to Giacometti’s biographer James Lord, the artist recalled Isabel standing at midnight on the Boulevard Saint-Michel—remote and imperious—and it was this image that gave rise to his iconic sculptures of tall, thin, unattainable women. In addition to this, Giacometti created many direct portraits of her, including Portrait d’Isabel, circa 1947, and two sculptures titled Tête d’Isabel of 1936 and 1937-1938.
The first owner of this work, Isabel Rawsthorne, had modeled for Derain after being spotted at the Dôme café near the Boulevard Montparnasse in Paris, and it was in this same location that she first caught the attention of Giacometti. According to Giacometti’s biographer James Lord, the artist recalled Isabel standing at midnight on the Boulevard Saint-Michel—remote and imperious—and it was this image that gave rise to his iconic sculptures of tall, thin, unattainable women. In addition to this, Giacometti created many direct portraits of her, including Portrait d’Isabel, circa 1947, and two sculptures titled Tête d’Isabel of 1936 and 1937-1938.