Joan Miró

Galerie Maeght-Lelong, Zurich

Acquired from the above in 1985

Joan Miró (exhibition catalogue), Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul 1973, illustration of another cast p. 138

Joan Miró (exhibition catalogue), Grand Palais, Paris, 1974, illustration of another cast p. 28

Franco Basile, Joan Miró, Bologna, 1977, illustration of another cast in color p. 235

Alain Jouffroy & Joan Teixidor, Miró Sculptures, Paris, 1980, no. 152, illustration of another cast in color p. 76

Joan Miró: Milano; pittura, Scultura, Ceramica, Desegni, Sobreteixims, Grafica (exhibition catalogue), Pilazzo Dugnani, Milan, 1981, illustration of another cast p. 97

Miró esculator (exhibition catalogue), Madrid, Centro Reina Sofia & Barcelona, Fundacio Joan Miró, 1986-87, illustration of another cast p. 196

Emilo Fernández Miró & Pilar Ortega Chapel, Joan Miró, Sculptures. Catalogue raisonné, 1928-1982, Paris, 2006, no. 186, illustration of another cast in color p. 187

Very good condition. Uniform brown patina with gold undertones. Clusters of pinholes scattered throughout the surface is visible most likely due to the casting process. There is a 1 1/2 inch loss in the bronze to the bottom edge of the surface. The sculpture is structurally sound.
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.

"When Miró sculpted, everything was either anachronic or unexpected.  There were no ground rules, only a penalty for ending the game.  Or perhaps there never was any beginning or end, only the perpetual exchange between the sculptor's imagination - his bet as it were - and the objects which rose before him, imposing their presence, the exchange between a venturesome gaze and the work's response to it" (Jacques Dupin, Miró, Paris, 1993, p. 376). 

Miró's assemblages are some of his most inventive works of art.  Repurposing utilitarian objects like forks and pipes, with the occasional addition of objects from the natural world such as shells and rocks, the artist would build his fanciful creations.  According to Pilar Ortega Chapel, the present work was created using a shell and a tube of white glue that the artist assembled into a single form.  From this model, he made a series of plasters in increasing size to arrive at the large-scale model from which Femme was cast.

In contrast to the elaborate, fanciful, and sometimes even Baroque nature of his sculpture, Miró's titles were invariably basic and minimal. According to the catalogue raisonné of his sculpture, there are approximately 90 sculptures with the word Femme in the title, either whole or in part.  The same approach to naming his works equally applies to his paintings and works on paper.  For most of his output in the latter half of his career, his works are titled with three basic words: Woman, Bird, and Star.  Within such a limited repertoire he found endless means of expression.  The present work bears unmistakable allusions to the female form.  First, the upright arrangement of elements with the spherical seashell atop, mimics the form of a standing figure.  The two protuberances to the midpoint of the cylinder can easily be read as breasts, while the vertical teardrop recession on the opposite side relates to a woman's sex.  Like the Paleolithic stone carvings of goddesses of fertility, such as the famed Venus of Willendorf, with their exaggerated secondary sexual characteristic and absence of facial features, the present work achieves a universal status as a representation of woman, source of all creation.  Miró breathes life into the inorganic matter he assembled.

The present bronze is numbered 4/4 from an edition of 4 numbered casts created during the artist's lifetime, plus one nominative cast made posthumously for the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona.