Giovanni Giacometti (Swiss painter) 1868 - 1933
Giovanni Giacometti was a painter, and father of artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti (Swiss, 1901–1966; 1902–1985). Born in Stampa, Switzerland, Giacometti moved to Munich to study art in 1888. While in Germany, he met fellow Swiss painter and illustrator Cuno Amiet (1868–1961), with whom he traveled to Paris. There, the pair met Giovanni Segantini (Italian, 1858–1899), who would become a veritable mentor and friend to Giacometti. His experience in France exposed him to Post-Impressionist artists, such as Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903) and Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890), whose influence is clearly recognizable in Giacometti's own paintings. In both landscapes and portraiture, Giacometti preferred bold, emotive color, and used a palette and style similar to his Post-Impressionist contemporaries. Giacometti's painting titled View of Capolago (c.1907), a vibrant landscape depicting mountains and reflective water in a palette of green, purple, and gray, is displayed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Giacometti returned to Stampa in 1891. After some monetary success in the early 1890s, he garnered more attention in 1912, when he was invited to exhibit his work with the German Expressionist group known as Die Brücke (The Bridge). Despite not having reached the level of renown as his sons, Giovanni Giacometti is considered a significant contributor to the revival of 20th century Swiss art and painting.
