Seventeen rare bronze and plaster sculptures by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti are now on display at the Temple of Dendur in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition, titled "Giacometti in the Temple of Dendur," runs from June 12 through September 8, 2026, and highlights the influence of ancient Egyptian art on Giacometti's work. Pieces such as *Walking Man* (1960), *Pointing Man* (1947), and *The Cat* (1954) are positioned throughout the temple, with fragile painted plasters on rare loan from the Fondation Giacometti before they move to the new Giacometti Museum in Paris, opening in 2028.
The exhibition matters because it draws a direct visual and conceptual link between Giacometti's modernist sculpture and the ancient Egyptian art that inspired him, a connection often overlooked. It also demonstrates how the Met is activating its collection spaces while its modern and contemporary galleries are closed for five years during construction of a new wing. By placing Giacometti's figures in the Temple of Dendur—a 2,000-year-old structure gifted to the museum by Egypt—the show creates a cross-cultural dialogue that is both historically resonant and institutionally strategic.