By 1950 Giacometti had shifted away from making the tall, attenuated sculptures that had won him world-wide acclaim, and had turned to painting and modeling portraits of the people closest to him, especially his wife Annette and his brother Diego. One year his junior, Diego was indispensable to Alberto's work as both tireless model and technical assistant in the execution of his sculpture, all while pursuing his own career as a furniture designer and sculptor.

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