Lot 316
  • 316

Joan Miró

Estimate
1,500,000 - 2,500,000 USD
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Description

  • Joan Miró
  • Femme et oiseau III/X
  • Signed with the initial M (lower left); signed Miró., titled, numbered 30/2 and dated 4/5/60 (on the reverse)
  • Oil on burlap
  • 29 3/4 by 14 7/8 in.
  • 75.5 by 37.8 cm

Provenance

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Galerie Urban, Paris
Private Collection, Europe

Exhibited

Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Artistes Espagnols, 1969, no. 22
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Summertime, 1970, no. 46

Literature

Jacques Dupin, Miró, Paris, 1961, no. 934, illustrated p. 555
Yvon Taillandier, Creación Miró 1961, Barcelona, 1962, illustrated in color p. 12
Claude Simon & Joan Miró, Femmes, Paris, 1965, illustrated in color pl. 16
Jacques Dupin & Ariane Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue raisonné. Paintings 1959-1968, vol. IV, Paris, 2002, no. 1089, illustrated in color p. 69

Condition

The work is in very good condition. The burlap has not been lined. The weave is thick and uneven and features inherent knots toward upper center right and lower left. The colors are extremely rich and the paint layer is stable. Some minor pigment loss may have occurred inherent to the medium and the artist's process. Under UV light: certain original pigments fluoresce but no inpainting is apparent.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Femme et oiseau III/X belongs to a group of ten compositions on burlap, on the subject of woman and bird, that Miró painted between late April and early June 1960 (see fig. 1). These works are characterized by patches of bold primary colors, combined with a fine, calligraphically executed black line, which stands in sharp contrast to the rich, rough texture of the material onto which they are applied, and which forms an integral part of the composition.

Jacques Dupin wrote about this group of paintings: "The burlap in itself suggests a nocturnal atmosphere, which gives an overtone of gravity of these paintings. The various versions of Woman and Woman and Bird are characterized by a purity, serenity, and joyfulness that distinguish them from other recent productions. […] Color is used only to modulate the grounds or to animate the burlap with pure tones. […] This theme provides us with one of the keys to Miró’s cosmic imagination: it expounds the conflict between the earthly and aerial elements and, in the dialogue between the woman and the bird, renders the precariousness of the balance achieved between them. There is nothing in the least spiritual about this flight, this blueprint of the agility of desire, the scents and the heat of this summer night suggested by the flashes of color on the dark, rough-woven material. Nothing is heavy or stabilized in this poetic stylization of woman in process of metamorphosis between fixity and volatility. The analogy between the two creatures, and the interlacing of their lines are sometimes so strong that it is hard to say where the woman ends and the bird begins, whether they do not after all form one marvellous hybrid creature" (Jacques Dupin, op. cit., 1962, p. 485).