Question 1

True or false: Giacometti's brother Diego was also his primary model for many years.

Accepted Answer

True. Diego Giacometti modeled for dozens of works, including the iconic 'Head of Diego' and many standing figures.

Question 2

True or false: He was a leading member of the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York.

Accepted Answer

False. Giacometti was associated with Surrealism and later Existentialism in Paris, not Abstract Expressionism.

Question 3

True or false: His paintings are more valuable than his sculptures at auction.

Accepted Answer

False. His sculptures, especially 'L'Homme au doigt' and 'Chariot,' have sold for over $100 million, far exceeding his paintings.

Question 4

True or false: Giacometti's sculptures became so tiny in the 1930s that he could fit them in matchboxes.

Accepted Answer

True. During his surrealist period, he made miniature figures (some under an inch tall) that he carried in matchboxes.

Question 5

True or false: His famous walking figures were inspired by a vision he had in a Parisian cafe.

Accepted Answer

False. The slender forms actually emerged from his shift to working from memory after 1935, not a single cafe vision.

Question 6

True or false: He destroyed much of his own work in frustration, feeling it never matched his vision.

Accepted Answer

False. While he was famously self-critical, the myth of mass destruction is exaggerated; he often reworked pieces rather than destroying them.

Question 7

True or false: Giacometti survived a near-fatal car accident that permanently affected his hand.

Accepted Answer

True. He was hit by a car in 1938, fracturing his foot, which led to a prolonged hospital stay and influenced his later existential themes.

Question 8

True or false: Giacometti once designed a lamp for his brother's interior design firm.

Accepted Answer

True. He created a bronze table lamp, the 'Lamp of the Artist,' for his brother Diego's decorating business in the 1930s.

Alberto Giacometti Trivia Questions