Alexina (Teeny) Duchamp, New York
Pierre-Noël Matisse, New York (by descent from the above and sold by the estate: Christie's, Paris, December 3, 2007, lot 140)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner 

Joan Punyet Miró, Joan Gardy Artigas & Cristina Calero Fernández, Joan Miró. Josep Llorens Artigas. Ceramics, Catalogue raisonné 1941-1981, Paris, 2007, no. 31, illustrated in color p. 48

Work is in very good condition. Uneven edges of tile and glaze surface are inherent. Surface may be slightly dirty and there are a few hairlines cracks in the pink glaze which are stable, otherwise fine.
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.

This playfully painted tile is representative of a significant turning point in Miró’s oeuvre, dating from the two-year period in the 1940s he spent working exclusively with the Spanish ceramic artist Josep Llorens Artigas, his lifelong friend, at the latter's studio in Barcelona. Both men worked together with a pioneering synchronicity, challenging the inherited traditions of ceramic production and reimagining the possibilities of the medium. Miró painted on everything Artigas created, including fragments of broken ceramics, tiles and pots, while Artigas constantly challenged Miró’s technical ability through a diverse use of texture, glaze and shape. As Artigas stated, “these are not decorated ceramics, they are simply ceramics; it is impossible to tell where the painter starts and the potter ends”(quoted in Joan Punyet Miró & Joan Gardy Artigas, op. cit., p. 17).

Inspired by the ancient cave paintings in Altamira, Northern Spain, this work reflects an integrity in creation which both artists yearned for. The coarse, tactile nature of the tile and rough application of the enamel is mitigated through the vibrant use of color. Miró employs his celebrated eye motif in this work, a recurring symbol of the artist’s Surrealist consciousness, but the nature of the subject's creation represents his departure from the consciously orchestrated Constellations series (1939-1942) to an unconscious development of figures where “Forms take reality…as I [Miró] work…rather than setting out to paint something, I begin painting, and as I paint, the picture begins to assert itself, or suggest itself under my brush” (quoted in Fundació Joan Miró, Joan Miró: 1893-1993, Barcelona, 1993, p. 22).

In 1944, the same year the present work was executed, Miró published an article titled From the Assassination of Painting to Ceramics vocalizing his vision for ceramics as a medium which would allow him to create huge murals in public spaces🦄. These concepts came to life when Miró undertook several large-scale murals at Harvard University (1951), the UNESCO building in Paris (1958) and the University of St. Gallen (1964). This work represents an expression of Miró’s true creative experimentation and reveals one of his earliest explorations 𓆏of a medium which became increasingly significant in the artist’s mature oeuvre.