The Giacometti Institute was created on the initiative of the Giacometti Foundation, which owns the biggest collection of Alberto Giacometti’s works. The Institute is the reference place for Giacometti's work and an art history center, which includes exhibitions, research and pedagogy.

With a surface area of 350 m2, the Giacometti Institute is located at 5 Rue Victor Schœlcher in the 14th arrondissement, the Montparnasse neighbourhood where Giacometti lived and worked throughout his career.

It is housed within the former studio of artist and interior designer Paul Follot, in a listed heritage building, a private mansion in the art deco style, with decors have been preserved and restored. Dating from the period of stylistic transition between art nouveau and art deco, the building was built between 1912 and 1914. Paul Follot’s studio constitutes a remarkable testimony to the Montparnasse neighbourhood, the area chosen by artists.