Joan Miró

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owner before 1969

London, The Tate Gallery & Zurich, Kunsthaus, Joan Miró, 1964, no. 122 (see fig. 1)
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Joan Miró, 1969, no. 42, illustrated in the catalogue
Zurich, Kunsthaus & Dusseldorf, Kunsthalle, Joan Miró Retrospective, 1986-87, no. 82, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Joan Miró: A Retrospective, 1987, no. 67, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Verona, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Palazzo Forti, Dali, Miro, Picasso  e il Surrealismo spagnolo, 1995
Vienna, Kunsthalle; Dusseldorf, Kunsthalle & Verona, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Palazzo Forti, Das grausame Spiel - Surrealismus in Spanien 1924-1939, 1995, no. 126, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Jacques Dupin, Joan Miró: Life and Work, London, 1962, no. 393, illustrated p. 531
Juan Perucho, Joan Miró y Cataluña, Barcelona, 1968, illustrated in a colour photograph of the 1968 Tate Gallery exhibition p. 198 (see fig. 1)
Jacques Dupin & Ariane Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró. Catalogue raisonné. Paintings: 1931-1941, Paris, 2000, vol. II, no. 458, illustrated in colour p. 101

Executed on collaged cream wove paper and sandpaper. Hinged to the backboard in two places at the top on the reverse and attached to the backboard at the lower corners. There are artist's pinholes at the edges of the sandpaper. There is small spot of glue residue to the upper part of the paper which appears to be associated with the artist's process and a few minor discoloured glue stains, mostly at the edges of the collaged cream wove paper. This work is in very good condition. Colours: The colours in the printed catalogue are accurate.
"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."

The present work is a wonderful example of Miró's increasingly frequent experimentation with texture in 1934. During this period, the artist was exploring the potential of new materials, including rice paper, corrugated cardboard, old envelopes, newspaper, or indeed the sandpaper of Peinture-Collage. What is particularly striking about the present work, is not simply the fact that the artist is using sandpaper, but the way he combines it to such great effect with the oil and paper. Indeed Jacques Dupin has remarked upon Miró's 'gift of making materials speak, and speak, moreover, a new though always natural language' (J. Dupin, op. cit., 1962, p. 256). The bold juxtaposition of the gritty sandpaper with the smooth white paper creates an initial tension, which is quickly resolved by the swooping fluidity of the pencil and ink lines that link the contrasting surfaces.

Remarking specifically upon this series of 1934 sandpaper works, Dupin talks of 'the flexible interplay of the forms' and the way in which the artist 'conveys the sensation of at-oneness with natural growth, the profound pulsations of the earth and the seeds of life germinating in it' (ibid., p. 258). Indeed the work exudes an overall sense of harmony, and is completely devoid of the anxiety that fills many of the artist's gouache works of the same year. The very organic forms of the two hybrid figures, delineated in pencil and oil, are joined by what is arguably a third figure, that one created by the undulating form of the white paper itself.  The sobre palette, of brown, black and white, further contributes to the organic, pure and understated aesthetic of Peinture-Collage. Though his vibrant palette is one of Miró's most celebrated artistic elements, the present work represents a fascinating opportunity to focus more closely on forms themselves, as well as the artist's 'distinctly sensual relationship with his materials' (Werner Schmalenbach, 'Drawings of the Late Years', in Joan Miró: A Retrospective, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1987, p. 51).