Joan Miró

Private Collection
Sale: Christie's, London, June 28, 1994, lot 287
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Alain Jouffroy & Joan Teixidor, Miró Sculptures, Paris, 1980, no. 250, illustration of another cast p. 243 (dated 1973)
Miró: Cent sculptures, 1962- 1978 (exhibition catalogue), Paris, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1978, no. 92, illustration of another cast p. 97
Miró escultor (exhibition catalogue), Madrid, Centro Reina Sofia, 1986, no. 29, illustration of another cast p. 74
Miró der Bildhauer (exhibition catalogue), Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 1987, no. 29, illustration of another cast p. 84
Fundació Joan Miró, Obra de Joan Miró, Barcelona, 1988, no. 1608, illustration of another cast p. 438
Emilio Fernández Miró & Pilar Ortega Chapel, Joan Miró, Sculptures, Catalogue Raisonné, 1928-1982, Paris, 2006, no. 248, illustration of another cast p. 248

There is a variegated green patina with an uneven drip pattern which is inherent to the artist's process. There are a few pindots of discoloration which resemble rust spots towards the bottom of the work and in a few other places. Apart from some pindot accretions which are likely also inherent to the patina, the work is in excellent condition.
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.

Personnage was created from found objects that the artist assembled and cast in bronze. With regard to his assembled sculptures, the artist explained, "Real objects, by being used, related and assembled in different manners, become unreal. The parts are familiar, yet the totality has a new life, a new meaning...when they are cast in bronze, they take on a noble and timeless quality" (Miró Scupture (exhibition catalogue), Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1976). While Miró's bronzes from the 1940s were hand modeled and inspired by the work of Brancusi and an interest in primitive art, his bronzes cast from assembled found objects, according to Jacques Dupin, "Have their roots in Surrealist collage and Goya's Caprices, and incorporate the wonder of childhood wit and the rustic, rough humour of the Catalans. These assemblages favour the automatic association of images and fantasy" (quoted in Emilio Fernández Miró & Pilar Ortega Chapel, op. cit., p. 21).

The archaic quality of the present bronze is further enhanced by its extraordinary patina. As William Jeffett writes, working with the Parellada Foundry, "Miró chose a patina which preserved the rough and varied 'fire skin,' or the unfinished surface of the bronze metal as it appears when emerging from the mould. This technique produced a variegated surface pattern, green in color, which imitated the accidental variations in surface resulting from the high temperatures reached in casting. This was a calculated effect, however, requiring as much effort on the part of the foundry artisans as more classically inspired surfaces" ("A Note on the Techniques of Bronze Casting" in Joan Miró Sculpture (exhibition catalogue), South Bank Centre, London & traveling, 1989-90, p. 19).

Fig. 1 Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1925, marble, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.