Hands Holding the Void (Invisible Object)

1932

First solo exhibition

Giacometti’s first solo exhibition took place in 1932, five years after his works were shown at the Salon des Tuileries.

1935

The end of his Surrealist period

In 1935 the artist turned his back on Surrealism and disowned all his works from that period, calling them “a complete dead end” (by other accounts, he was expelled from the group).

1935–1940

A two-week study stretches over five years

Wanting to return to compositions with figures, Giacometti took a model in 1935, expecting to finish in two weeks, but worked with the model all day until 1940. “Nothing was as I imagined,” he recalled; a head became for him an object completely unknown and without dimensions.

1940s

The war: refuge in Switzerland

He spent the years of the Second World War in Switzerland, living in Geneva.

1946

Meets Annette Arm

In Switzerland in 1946 Giacometti met Annette Arm, a secretary for the Red Cross; they married on 19 July 1949.

1949

Married: Annette Giacometti