Book excerpt: Alberto Giacometti forged a singular path within European Modernism, restlessly seeking a new language for sculpture as the double of reality. His quest brought him into close, face-to-face contact with some of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century--including Georges Bataille, Jean Genet, and Samuel Beckett. Tracing how these literary friendships molded the artist's creative development, Alberto Giacometti: Face to Face discovers new continuities among the various strains of modernist thought and develops a fresh approach to Giacometti and his work. This accessible overview of Giacometti's career is illustrated by more than 150 reproductions of his sculptures and paintings as well as excerpts from the literature that shaped his ideas, tracking the evolution of his work from post-cubism through surrealism and into post-war realism.