Giacommetti was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. Breaking both with the figurative tradition and with contemporary tendencies that gave priority to the play of signs over the exploration of the human condition, he developed an art that speaks with unmatched gravity and intensity of the presence of other beings—for beings standing before him in that moment of their existence. This art is not simply art: it is a metaphysical and moral statement of the kind that society needs.