L'Homme qui marche I
Cast bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, created in 1961.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Alberto Giacometti’s *L’Homme qui marche I* (pronounced [lɔm ki maʁʃ œ̃]; also called *The Walking Man I* or *The Striding Man I*, literally “The Man who Walks I”) is a bronze sculpture cast in 1961. The work exists in six numbered editions and four artist proofs. The sculpture shows a solitary man caught mid-stride, arms hanging at his sides. It has been described as both a humble image of an ordinary person and a powerful symbol of humanity; Giacometti reportedly saw the natural balance of the stride as representing a person’s life force.
In 1960, Giacometti was invited to contribute bronze figures for the Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York. He produced several sculptures, including this one, but struggled with the commission and eventually abandoned it. The following year, he cast the life-sized work in bronze and displayed it at the 1961 Venice Biennale. Created during the peak of Giacometti’s mature period, the piece marks the culmination of his exploration of the human form and is regarded as one of his most significant works, as well as an iconic piece of Modern art.
The first edition of the sculpture is housed at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul, France. The second edition belongs to the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Other casts are located at the Kunsthaus Zürich; the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands; the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York; the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Iran; and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art near Copenhagen, Denmark.
On 3 February 2010, the second edition was auctioned at Sotheby’s in London. It had been owned by the German banking group Commerzbank, which acquired it after taking over Dresdner Bank in 2009. This was the first time in two decades that a life-sized Giacometti walking figure had come to auction. Estimated at £12 to £18 million, the piece sold in eight minutes to Lily Safra, widow of banker Edmond Safra, for £58 million. With the buyer’s premium, the total reached £65 million (about US$103.7 million, or $153.1 million in 2025). The sale broke the previous auction record for a Giacometti work—$27.5 million for *Grande Femme Debout II* in 2008—and the record for the most expensive sculpture sold at public auction, previously held by the 5,000-year-old *Guennol Lioness*, which sold at Sotheby’s in 2007 for $57.2 million. In British pound
- artist
- Alberto Giacometti
- year_created
- 1961
- medium
- cast bronze
- editions
- 6 numbered editions plus 4 artist proofs
- notable_auction_price
- $104.3 million in 2010 ($153.99 million in 2025)
Lore & Background
In 1960, Giacometti was asked to be part of a public project by the Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York to plant bronze figures outside the building. He created several sculptures, with L’Homme qui marche I among them. Giacometti struggled with the project and eventually abandoned the commission. However, in 1961 he cast the life-size work in bronze and exhibited it at the Venice Biennale that same year. L’Homme qui marche I was created at the high point of Giacometti's mature period and represents the pinnacle of his experimentation with the human form.
Reader's Guide
L’Homme qui marche I is significant as a landmark of Modern art and as one of the most expensive sculptures ever sold at auction. On 3 February 2010, edition number two sold at Sotheby's in London for £65 million (US$103.7 million), breaking the record for a Giacometti work at auction and the record for the most expensive sculpture sold at a public auction. Its price was surpassed in May 2015 by another Giacometti work, L’Homme au doigt. The sculpture depicts a lone man in mid-stride, described as 'both a humble image of an ordinary man, and a potent symbol of humanity.' Giacometti viewed 'the natural equilibrium of the stride' as a symbol of 'man's own life force.' The piece is held in several museum collections, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Fondation Maeght, the Kröller-Müller Museum, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Did You Know?
- Edition number two of L’Homme qui marche I sold for $104.3 million in 2010, making it the most expensive sculpture at auction until 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the artist behind L'Homme qui marche I?
The sculpture was created by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti and cast in bronze in 1961. In English it is commonly known as The Walking Man I or The Striding Man I.
What does L'Homme qui marche I look like?
The piece portrays a lone male figure frozen in mid-stride, with his arms hanging naturally at his sides. The elongated, slender form gives the impression of a person caught in a single, deliberate step.
How many editions of L'Homme qui marche I were produced?
Giacometti's foundry produced six numbered editions of the bronze, along with four additional artist proofs, for a total of ten castings.
What is the highest auction price L'Homme qui marche I has reached?
In 2010 a casting sold for $104.3 million, making it one of the most expensive sculptures ever traded on the open market. Adjusted for inflation, that figure translates to roughly $153.99 million in 2025 dollars.
Why is L'Homme qui marche I considered an important work of art?
The sculpture is widely read as both a quiet portrait of an everyday individual and a broader emblem of the human condition. Giacometti reportedly saw the natural equilibrium of the walking stride as an expression of a person's vital life force.
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