Artist.  He helped introduce modernism to Swiss painting in the early 20th Century. Giacometti was born in Stampa,  Switzerland,  into a family of Italian descent.  He studied painting in Munich and Paris (1886 to 1891),  and lived in Italy before settling in his hometown.  On a visit to Munich in 1901 he discovered the work of Van Gogh and began creating landscapes and portraits in the Post-Impressionist manner.  In 1907 he was invited to exhibit with the Expressionist group “Die Brücke” (“The Bridge”) in Dresden,  and he had his first major solo show in Zurich in 1912.  His later canvases show the influence of Fauvism with their broad patches of pure color. Giacometti was less radical in technique than his colleagues in these movements,  but this won him greater acceptance in the conservative Swiss art world.  He was the father of sculptors Alberto and Diego Giacometti, and architect Bruno Giacometti. (bio by: Bobb Edwards)