In 1925, Diego joined Alberto in Paris. Two years later, the two brothers set up shop in the modest studio at 46 Rue Hippolyte-Maindron, where they would work for the rest of their lives. During those difficult years, Diego took on a variety of odd jobs whilst actively assisting his brother. Endowed with remarkable manual dexterity, he quickly became an indispensable collaborator, contributing to the technical execution of the sculptures and the development of Alberto’s artistic explorations.

Their meeting in 1929 with the interior designer Jean-Michel Frank marked a turning point. Thanks to this collaboration, the Giacometti brothers ventured into the field of decorative arts, designing lighting, furniture and objects for a discerning clientele. Diego played a key role in this, thanks to his masterful craftsmanship and his understanding of materials.

From 1935 to 1940, he posed daily for Alberto, who tirelessly sought to capture his face. When the Second World War broke out, the two brothers were separated: Alberto, who had left for Switzerland in 1941, was unable to return to Paris until 1945. Left alone in the studio, Diego went through a period of isolation but also of emancipation. He made a living by creating perfume bottles, display stands and various decorative objects for fashion designers and artists.

After the war, Alberto’s growing fame further increased Diego’s importance in the studio. However, as he approached his fifties, he felt the need to develop a personal body of work. The support of gallery owners and collectors Aimé Maeght and Marguerite Maeght proved decisive: they commissioned a significant collection of furniture and accessories from him for their homes, revealing his unique artistic vision.

From the 1950s onwards, Diego Giacometti established himself as a designer of bronze furniture. Based in a metalwork studio on Rue du Moulin-Vert, he designed tables, sideboards, chairs and light fittings featuring animals – owls, cats, foxes – and inspired by nature. His style combines great formal simplicity with a subtle poetry, blending geometric rigour with plant motifs.

Notably, he created the furniture for the bar at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in 1962, and then, in 1964, designed the interior of a room at the Kronenhalle restaurant in Zurich, a major artistic hub frequented by many cultural figures. After Alberto’s death in 1966, Diego continued his creative journey alone. Commissions multiplied, including those from the Marc Chagall National Museum in Nice and the Picasso Museum in Paris, which constituted one of his major projects.

In his later years, his work achieved a high degree of refinement: his furniture is distinguished by the purity of its lines and the subtle balance between architectural structure and poetic imagination. Diego Giacometti passed away on 15 July 1985, a few months before the opening at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris of the only exhibition he had expressly wished for. Long overshadowed by his brother, he is now recognised as one of the greatest creators of art furniture of the 20th century.