胡安·米羅

Richard Feigen Gallery, New York

Knoedler Gallery, New York

B.C. Holland Gallery, Chicago

Acquired from the above

Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Joan Miró, Works from Chicago Collections, 1961, no. 24, illustrated in the catalogue

Jacques Dupin, Joan Miró. Catalogue Raisonné, Drawings: Volume 1: 1901-1937, no. 598, illustrated p. 288

Very good condition over all. The paper is affixed to an old mount at the top edge. There are areas of discoloration from water stains that occured during the artist's process. A small repaired tear (about 1cm) is visible along the left edge towards the center. The sheet is mildly time-stained, but the medium is vibrant and decals are in very good 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.

The present work belongs to a series of collage-drawings created between 1935 and 1936, an immensely rich and experimental period in Miró’s career. It was during this time that Miró developed the iconography and pictorial vocabulary that would inhabit the remainder of his unique oeuvre. Executed a few months before a right-wing coup against the government of the Second Spanish Republic unleashed a brutal civil war, Métamorphose captures some of the anxieties that weighted heavily upon the artist. The collaged elements of the composition, flowers, birds and butterflies, are juxtaposed with the drawing of a distorted figure and hastily, almost violently applied washes and splashes of watercolor and ink. This group of Metamorphosis collage drawings was created during a brief interlude while Miró was working on his celebrated series of paintings on copper and Masonite and are widely seen as contributing to the augmentation and expansion of them.