Born in Switzerland into a family where art was a major preoccupation, Alberto Giacometti chose to complete his training by moving to Paris in 1922. He studied with Bourdelle and Germaine Richier. He developed at this period an interest in modelling and materials. His brother Diego, also a sculptor, joined him in 1925. They worked together in Paris, which has become an intellectual and artistic capital, where many trends were emerging. In the early 1930s, he worked with the decorator Jean-Michel Franck, designing decorative objects. This attraction to furniture and objects will arouse his brother's curiosity and imagination, in a completely different vein, until the end of his career. It was during this period in the 1930s that Alberto became close to the Surrealist artists, who wondered the status of the object and its aesthetic, even metaphorical, significance. Alberto's most emblematic work is La Boule Suspendue (the Suspended Ball), which fascinated both André Breton and Salvador Dali. He took refuge in Switzerland during the Second World War, where he created his famous slender walking figures. With their great expressive power, they are ideal for large-scale works, which contributed to their success.

Alongside with his three-dimensional research, the artist drew and painted extensively, including numerous portraits. The two brothers had the unfailing support of several leading figures in the art market, who promoted their work beyond France's borders, including Aimé Maeght and Pierre Matisse. In 1958, he was chosen to create a monument to be installed at the foot of the Chase Manhattan Bank building in New York. Although it never been built, the monument contributed to the advent of the artist's major work, l’Homme qui marche (Walking Man), in 1960. He died in 1966, leaving his brother to bring his own creation to life.