Joaquim Mir

Avelino Trinxet i Casas, Barcelona (commissioned from the artist, his nephew)
Ana María Trinxet de Martínez Comín (by descent from the above)
Private collection, Barcelona
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 16 November 2004, lot 126
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Barcelona, Museo de Arte Moderno, Exposición Joaquín Mir (1873-1940), 1972, no. 24, illustrated in the catalogue
Madrid & Barcelona, Banco Bilbao-Vizcaya, Joaquim Mir. Cincuenta años después, 1990, no. 59, illustrated in the catalogue
Palma de Mallorca, Fundació La Caixa, Joaquim Mir. Itinerari Vital, 1997-98, no. 59, illustrated in the catalogue
Girona, Fundació Caixa Girona; Segovia, Caja Segovia; Sabadell, Fundación Caixa Sabadell, Joaquim Mir. Mallorca y otros paisajes, 2004, illustrated in the catalogue

Enric Jardí, Joaquim Mir, Barcelona, 1989, p. 76, no. 62, the present work illustrated together with another part of the decorative scheme
Francésc Miralles, Joaquín Mir al Camp de Tarragona, Barcelona, 1998, p. 31, illustrated
Centro cultural La Caixa Gerona, Mir a Mallorca i altres paisatges, 2004
Galería Antiquaria, January 2005, no. 234. p. 99
Arte, February 2005, illustrated 

Oil on canvas laid on board. The board is flat, even, and ensuring a stable support. There are some minor dents along the upper framing edge, visible under close inspection. There is a pattern of drying craquelure in the dark greens to the left of the composition. There is scattered raised flaking with associated paint loss in the right half of the composition (some of which visible in the catalogue illustration) which could benefit from consolidation and restoration. Ultra-violet light reveals scattered retouching including: intermittent strokes of retouching along the upper framing edge, notably in the upper left and right corner, an area of circa 3 by 18cm in the blue impasto to the left (possibly addressing an old repair), and areas of retouching in the foliage in the right hand side. The work is otherwise in overall good condition. Presented in a gilt frame with a nameplate.
"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."

Painted circa 1909-14.

This luminous, immersive painting was conceived as part of a panel in Mir's decorative cycle for the Casa Trinxet, a masterpiece of Barcelona Modernism (fig. 1). Responding to the house's spectacular interior, Mir produced some of the most successful works of his career, dazzling in their bold palette and almost abstracted forms. 

Completed in 1904, the Trinxet house was commissioned by Mir's uncle Avelino, scion of the Trinxet textile family. Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867-1956) was the architect chosen, a contemporary of Gaudí and notably the designer of the the Casa Martí, home of the Els Quatre Gats group which acted as a meeting place for Barcelona's modernist artists from Picasso to Casas, and also the Casa Amatller. The painting was saved from the much-lamented destruction of the Trinxet house when the site was redeveloped in the late 1960s, despite vehement opposition. 

While the effect of Mir's scheme as a whole can now only be grasped from contemporary photographs (fig. 2), the present work nevertheless gives an excellent sense of Mir's vision. Depicting an exuberant garden with abundant vegetation, flowers, and mountains beyond, the work demonstrates the quality of Mir's work which the critic Joaquim Folch i Torres identified as 'the supreme glorification of colour for colour's sake'.