Giacometti at the Temple of Dendur

Alberto Giacometti has always drawn inspiration from the aesthetics of Antiquity, fascinated by the verticality and eternity of the Nile’s silhouettes. From June 12 to September 8, 2026, The Metropolitan Museum of Art orchestrates a spectacular encounter between modernity and a millennium-old history. His famous long, slender bronze figures take their place at the very heart of the temple of Dendur, an Egyptian monument from the 1st century BC. This striking staging highlights the unsettling kinship between the artist’s filiform works and the sacred statues of the pharaohs. As one circulates around these metal sentinels installed under the natural light of the grand glass ceiling, one perceives the sculptor’s obsession for human presence through the ages. This unprecedented temporal face-to-face offers a new perspective on these masterpieces of the 20th century, now protected by a setting of sandstone and water.