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Lot 135AR
JOAN MIRÓ(1893-1983)Personnages, oiseaux
Amended
17 October 2025, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £23,040 inc. premium
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Adelaide Dunn
Associate Specialist, Head of Sale
JOAN MIRÓ (1893-1983)
Personnages, oiseaux
signed 'Miró' (upper right); inscribed and dated '23/V.81. Personnages, oiseaux' (on the reverse)
oil, pastel and pen and India ink on board
31.2 x 17.5cm (12 5/16 x 6 7/8in).
Executed on 23 May 1981
signed 'Miró' (upper right); inscribed and dated '23/V.81. Personnages, oiseaux' (on the reverse)
oil, pastel and pen and India ink on board
31.2 x 17.5cm (12 5/16 x 6 7/8in).
Executed on 23 May 1981
Footnotes
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Association pour la Défense de l'oeuvre de Joan Miró (ADOM).
Provenance
Private collection, Mallorca (acquired in 1981).
Galeria Marc Calzada, Barcelona (acquired from the above).
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Exhibited
London, Fairhead Fine Art, Joan Miró Symbols, 19 March – 18 April 2024.
Literature
J. Dupin & A. Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue raisonné, Drawings, Vol. VI, 1978-1981, Paris, 2018, no. 5184 (illustrated p. 299).
Joan Miró's Personnages, oiseaux is a raw summation of the artist's iconic visual language, executed on his characteristic reclaimed plywood. The work presents a vibrant lexicon of the artist's symbology: a playful constellation of scattered orbs, some haloed in yellow, blue, green or pink, is punctuated by his signature criss-crossing lines and arrows. At its heart, the two titular motifs – a playful figure and a bird – engage in a silent, celestial dance. These symbols, which obsessed Miró throughout his career, are rendered here with the confident simplicity of a master who has pared his art down to its essential, magical core.
The artist's choice of a rough-hewn piece of plywood is far from incidental; it was a radical exclamation of his artistic philosophy. Miró was a pioneer of recycling, deliberately de-sanctifying the art object to challenge its conception and embrace a raw, spontaneous creativity. He transformed this discarded material into a universe of its own, using gestural brushstrokes, deliberate drippings, and bold washes to impart life onto the rigid grain. The textural irregularities of the support are harnessed in turn as facets of the composition, serving to accentuate and harmonise its geometric arrangement. As such, the present work forms a rare example of Miró's final, insurgent creative period, ever in keeping with his unbridled approaches to seeing and making.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the estimates for this work are now £20,000-30,000.