Diego GIACOMETTI (1902-1985) Chat Maître d'hôtel, second version, with hollow tray. Green patina bronze sculpture. Created in 1967. Signed "Diego" on the terrace. H. 29.5 cm; W. 17.4 cm; D. 8.4 cm. This work has been authenticated in accordance with the process established by the Diego Giacometti Estate. A certificate of authenticity dated March 5, 2026 will be issued to the purchaser. Diego Giacometti's Le Chat Maître d'hôtel is a work that embodies the artist's characteristic sense of humor. The feline, standing on its hind legs, was commissioned by Aimé Maeght to sit inside a cage used to feed the birds at his Fondation in Saint Paul de Vence. The cat, a traditional predator of birds, metamorphosed here into a benevolent guardian, presenting seeds in its bowl, offers a surrealist image. The work is visual poetry, a nod to nature and the complex relationship between predator and prey. Bibliography: Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Édition Adrien Maeght, 1985, an example of our model is reproduced on p. 149. Françoise Francisci, Diego Giacometti, Catalogue de l'œuvre, Vol. I, Éditions Eolia, 1986, an example of our model reproduced on p. 27. François Baudot, Diego Giacometti, Éditions Assouline, 1998, an example of our model reproduced on the cover. Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, Édition Hermann, 1986, an example of our model reproduced on p. 121. Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, sculpteur de meubles, Éditions du Regard, Paris, 2018, an example of our model reproduced on p. 141. Exhibition catalog, Giacometti une famille de créateurs, Édition Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght, 2021, an example of our model reproduced p. 251. Christian Boutonnet & Rafael Ortiz, Giacometti Diego, Éditions de L'amateur, Galerie L'Arc en Seine, 2003, an example of our model reproduced on p. 92. Christian Boutonnet & Rafael Ortiz, L'arc en Seine, Éditions du Regard, 2021, an example of our model reproduced on p. 117.