Joan Miró

Dr Josef Blàjot, Barcelona (a gift from the artist)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 1st July 1981, lot 417
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on cream wove paper, floating in the mount, not laid down and attached to the mount at intervals along all four edges. Apart from some medium-rubbing and slight undulations to the sheet, both intrinsic to the artist's process, this work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration althought the red and yellow tones are slightly more subtle in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Composition presents a mix of radical abstraction and semiotic complexity that was groundbreaking among the avant-garde. It exemplifies the artist's love of symbols and signs that is at once playful, passionate and intensely creative. In Miró's most successful work, his remarkable visual vocabulary strikes a perfect balance between abstraction and image-signs. There is always energy and movement in these pictures and never stasis. Moreover, each work is the result of active and ongoing improvisation that renders a precise interpretation impossible.

Composition is a wonderful example of the expressive power of images, even though the images in the picture bear no resemblance to the natural world. Miró is solely reliant upon the lexicon of signs and symbols that he had developed over the years. 

As evident in the present work, Miró was fascinated by the new techniques and aesthetic agenda of the Abstract Expressionists. The experience of seeing their work, the artist would later recall, was like a 'blow to the solar plexus'. Several young painters, including Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, were crediting Miró as their inspiration for their different abstract styles. The artist created works that responded to the enthusiasm of this new generation of American painters and the spontaneity of their art. Composition is a fascinating response to the emerging trends, but Miró, at the same time, retains a loyalty to his own artistic pursuits.