Alberto Giacometti, his sculptures and his studio

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Working in the Stampa studio. Ernst Scheidegger

The Giacometti family house and studio in Stampa. The barn to the right of the house was converted into a studio by father Giovanni in 1906. It was later used by Alberto. Scheidegger

Giacometti painting his wife, Annette. Ernst Scheidegger

A studio corner with paintings by father and son – Giovanni and Alberto. Ernst Scheidegger

At work in the Maloja studio. Ernst Scheidegger

A wall in his studio with a still life and sketches for, among others, La Femme au Chariot (Woman with Chariot). This was originally intended as a statue for the city hall in the 14th Arrondissement in Paris. Ernst Scheidegger

Giacometti was asked to make a group of figures for the square in front of the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, a commission which occupied him until his death. In 1965 he visited the still empty square in New York. Ernst Scheidegger

Alberto painting the portrait of Jacques Dupin, a French writer, poet and art critic. Ernst Scheidegger

Plaster bust, "Lothar II" (left). Ernst Scheidegger

Giacometti working in his Paris studio on a sculpture of the Japanese philosophy professor Isaku Yanaihara. Ernst Scheidegger

In the Paris studio. Ernst Scheidegger

In a café at the crossroads of the Rue d'Alésia / Rue Didot in Paris. Ernst Scheidegger

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Photographer Ernst Scheidegger and sculptor Alberto Giacometti met during military service and became lifelong friends. Scheidegger took hundreds of black-and-white photos of Giacometti, covering the period from 1943 until Giacometti’s death in 1966. Recently the photographer discovered 40 previously unpublished colour images in his archive.

The photographs appear in the second edition of the renowned book Alberto Giacometti – Spuren einer Freundschaft (Alberto Giacometti – Traces of a Friendship). The images were taken in the places where the sculptor lived and worked: in Bergell and Paris. They are personal, intimate glimpses of the artist, as well as documenting his sculptures and his studios.

Scheidegger celebrated his 90th birthday on November 30, 2013. In tribute, the Kunsthaus Zurich, which boasts the largest and most important Giacometti collection, put on an exhibition of his Giacometti photos.

Scheidegger had a long career which saw him working as a photojournalist for the famous Magnum agency and, later, as photo editor of the weekend supplement of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (1960-1989), during which he published around 200 of his own photo features.

(Pictures: Ernst Scheidegger: Alberto Giacometti – Traces of a Friendship), Zurich, Scheidegger & Spiess, 2013. © Succession Alberto Giacometti / 2014, Pro Litteris, Zurich)