Of Swiss origin, Alberto Giacometti began his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1919 before joining the École des Arts et Métiers in Geneva. However, he left this institution to accompany his father to the Venice Biennale, a trip that he extended to several other Italian cities such as Florence, Assisi, Rome and Naples. In 1922, he continued his studies in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, in Antoine Bourdelle's studio. He quickly became part of the Parisian artistic and intellectual scene, becoming close to the Surrealist group led by André Breton, whose marriage to Jacqueline Lambail he witnessed in 1934. Supported by art galleries, he organised his first solo exhibition in 1932 and exhibited internationally, notably in the United States.
He was expelled from the Surrealist movement in 1935.
During the Second World War, he left Paris to settle in Geneva, where he stayed from January 1942 to September 1945. There he met up again with the publisher Albert Skira, whom he had met in Paris and who, like him, had been forced to flee the conflict. He divided his time between Geneva, Stampa and Maloja. It was in this city that he met Annette Arm, who would become one of his muses and whom he married in 1949.
Before that, the couple settled in Paris, where his brother Diego lived in their studio during the war. Alberto returned to the Parisian literary scene and collaborated with numerous writers, whom he portrayed. He then enjoyed international success. In 1965, the Alberto Giacometti Foundation was established in Zurich to preserve and promote his artistic legacy.