The Altes Museum displays ‘Alberto Giacometti, and the Egyptians'

Wednesday, 29 October 2008 16:56

 

BERLIN - Ancient Egyptian art reflected in the work of a giant of the art of the modern day - this exhibition will open up new perspectives to us by drawing our gaze away from the iconological mode of viewing the works towards more formal essentials, thus allowing us to take a peek at the artist behind the work. The Ancient Egyptians exerted an intense fascination over Alberto Giacometti, a fascination which was to last over several decades. Countless of his drawings of Egyptian originals (among them also artifacts from the Berlin collection) bear witness to this fact, as well as that Giacometti came to mention Egypt time and again in his writings and in the interviews he gave.

It is above all else his visualization of space through pictorial means that shows his affinity to the Ancient Egyptians, whose art so much inspired him. What interested him the most thereby was the figurative approach of the artist, who he (taking a stance which directly opposed the commonly held view of Egyptologists) saw not as anonymous, but as an individual and someone who had wrestled with form and style no less than he himself had. Now integrated into the sculpture halls of the Egyptian Museum's permanent exhibition, works by Giacometti from the Sammlung der Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung in Zurich invite visitors to listen in to a dialogue between artists as they communicate with each other in a common language of forms which traverses several millennia.

By being placed in this context, Giacometti's work reveals how steadfastly rooted in the past it is, as well as allowing the art of the Ancient Egyptians to once again exude an extraordinary freshness and relevance. Maurizio Nannucci's ALL ART HAS BEEN CONTEMPORARY which hangs on the outside of the museum can be taken as an appropriate invitation to ‘Giacometti, the Egyptians'

The Altes Museum Collection

One of the masterpieces of the area known as Museum Island, the Altes Museum (Old Museum) was the first dedicated museum building in Berlin. The Altes Museum was reopened in 1966. Today, it houses the Antikensammlung (Museum of Antiquities) on its main floor. The permanent collection here includes a vast variety of ancient Greek and Roman decorative art including vases, paintings, and statues.

One of the biggest attractions at the museum is the bust of Queen Nefertiti, discovered in 1912 and dating back to 1360 B.C. Since 2005, she’s held a place of honor on the ground floor of the Altes Museum, where she’ll remain until the Neue Museum is completed in 2009.

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