Property from a Private European Collection | Provenant d'une collection particulière européenne
Property from a Private European Collection
Joan Miró
1893 - 1983
Painting
signed Miró and dated 3.31 (towards lower centre); signed Joan Miró and dated 3-31 (on the reverse)
oil and collage on metal
18,1 x 20 cm; 7⅛ x 7⅞ in.
Executed in March 1931.
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Provenant d'une collection particulière européenne
Joan Miró
1893 - 1983
Painting
signé Miró et daté 3.31 (vers le bas au centre); signé Joan Miró et daté 3-31 (au dos)
huile et collage sur métal
18,1 x 20 cm; 7⅛ x 7⅞ in.
Exécuté en mars 1931.
Executed on a sheet of metal affixed at various points along the verso to a board. There are scattered thin abrasions to the surface of the metal and a flattened crease running horizontally across the lower part of the composition, possibly original inherent to the support or to the artistic process. There is some paint shrinkage to the blue and white pigments with associated small specks of paint loss and some glue remnants visible around the main elements of the composition, possibly inherent to the artistic process. There are two small dents to the metal just above the centre of the composition and a few minor flattened creases along the lower edge, notably in the lower right corner. This work is in overall good condition.
Please note: Condition XVI of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot. (Veuillez noter que l’Article XVI des Conditions Générales de Vente applicables aux Acheteurs (Ventes Effectuées Exclusivement en Ligne) n’est pas applicable pour ce lot.)
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
Georges Hugnet, Paris
Private collection, Paris (acquired from the above)
Sale: Sotheby's, Paris, December 8, 2011, lot 24
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
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Georges Hugnet, Paris
Collection particulière, Paris (acquis auprès du précédent)
Vente: Sotheby's, Paris, 8 décembre 2011, lot 24
Acquis lors de cette vente par le propriétaire actuel
Jacques Dupin & Ariane Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue Raisonné, Paintings, 1931-1941, Paris, 2000, vol. II, no. 344, illustrated p. 28
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Jacques Dupin & Ariane Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue Raisonné, Paintings, 1931-1941, Paris, 2000, vol. II, no. 344, reproduit p. 28
By 1931, Joan Miró was fully committed to the Surrealist project. After his initial move to Paris in 1922, the artist established close contact with André Breton, André Masson, Max Ernst, Jean Arp and Paul Éluard. Following his first one-man show in the United States in 1930, the artist’s overtly experimental style secured his international reputation; his revolutionary collages of 1929 and anti-painting objets of 1930 were followed by artworks dedicated to innovative technique, an economy of pictorial means and the use of non-artistic materials. As Miró famously told Francisco Melgar, during the journalist’s visit to his Paris studio in January 1931: ‘I intend to destroy, destroy everything that exists in painting’ (quoted in Miró and the Object (exhibition catalogue), Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 2015, p. 24).
This crisis of "anti-painting" translates from 1930 through the experimentation of new techniques and new materials in his art. 1931 is thus the year of superpositions of materials, collages and "paintings-objects". The technique of collage, in particular, occupies a preponderant part in the work of the artist. Miró does not conceive collage in the way of Cubist artists but decides to apply it to new supports, creating new associations such as paper and wood on aluminum support. The present lot is one of the two paintings on aluminium by Miró known at this time.
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Dès 1931, Joan Miró s’engage pleinement dans le mouvement surréaliste. L'artiste déménage à Paris en 1922, et fréquente alors d'importants protagonistes du mouvement comme André Breton, André Masson, Max Ernst, Jean Arp ou encore Paul Éluard. Sa première exposition personnelle aux Etats-Unis s’ouvre en 1930. Son style expérimental lui assure une notoriété d'envergure internationale ; ses collages de 1929 et ses objets « anti-peinture » de 1930 seront suivis par une production artistique d'œuvres consacrées à la fois à une technique innovante et à l'utilisation de matériaux non-artistiques. Comme Miró l'a dit à Francisco Melgar, lorsqu'il a accueilli ce dernier dans son studio parisien en janvier 1931 : "Je veux détruire, détruire tout ce qui existe dans la peinture" (Miró et l'objet, catalogue de l'exposition, Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelone, 2015, p. 24). Cette crise de "l'anti-peinture" se traduit à partir des années 1930 par l'expérimentation de nouvelles techniques et de nouveaux matériaux dans son art. Les œuvres de l'année 1931 se caractérisent par des superpositions de matériaux, des collages et des "peintures-objets".
La technique du collage, en particulier, occupe alors une part prépondérante dans le travail de l'artiste. Miró ne conçoit pas le collage à la manière des artistes cubistes mais décide de l'appliquer à de nouveaux supports, mixant par exemple le papier et le bois sur un support en aluminium. Cette œuvre est l'une des deux peintures sur aluminium de Miró connues à ce jour.