FIGURES OF CRISIS - ALBERTO GIACOMETTI AND THE MYTHS OF NATIONALISM

A major reevaluation of a towering figure in twentieth-century art and the relationship of his sculpture to the crisis of nationalism in modern Europe In 1935, Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (19011966) abruptly abandoned his surrealist experiments and devoted himself to sculpting portrait busts and minuscule figurines, many no larger than a fingernail. Joanna Fiduccia traces the origins and progression of Giacomettis notorious artistic crisis, revealing its connection to a broader crisis of national identity in modern Europe.