Galerie Adrien Maeght, Paris
Collection Jacques Hachuel, Madrid
Collection particulière, Madrid
Galería Marlborough, Madrid
Acquis auprès de celle-ci par le propriétaire actuel en 2003

Madrid, Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Antoni Tàpies, mai - août 1980; catalogue, no. 149, n.p., illustré en couleurs
Cases-de-Pène, Fondation du Chateau de Jau, Antoni Tàpies, été 1981
Zürich, Galerie Maeght, Antoni Tàpies, décembre 1980 - janvier 1981; catalogue, no. 10, n.p., illustré en couleurs
Venise, XL Biennale di Venezia, Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, 1982

Victoria Combalia Dexeus, Tàpies, Barcelona, 1986, no. 67, n.p., illustré en couleurs
Victoria Combalia, Concha Lomba, Los Genios de la Pintura Española, Tàpies, Madrid, 1988, no. 18, n.p., illustré en couleurs
Anna Agusti, Tàpies, Catalogue Raisonné, Vol 4, 1976-1981, Paris, 1996, no. 3543, p. 215, illustré en couleurs

The colours are more saturated and contrasted than in the catalogue image. Moreover, the image does not accurately convey the thrree dimensional nature of the work. Please refer to the image in the online catalogue for a more accurate rendering. The wood is mounted on wood. There is a very faint vertical, hairline crack located on the upper left quadrant. A few scattered restorations along the right edge fluoresce under Ultra Violet light inspection, especially on the upper and lower left corners and on the thinner layer of media. Smaller dots of restoration fluoresce on the edges of the upper right corner and along the lower edge by the right corner. This work is in very good condition overall.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The English translation of this note follows the French

Notice de catalogue
Aussi puissant que monumental, imposant que frontal, Materia sobre fusta amb oval illustre parfaitement l’incomparable maestria de Tàpies, roi thaumaturge de l’histoire de l’art espagnol. Avec son unité de tons à la fois dissonants et harmonieux, ses formes  reconnaissables et pourtant énigmatiques, il semble que cet immense tableau ait un pouvoir transcendant. Difficile de ne pas penser ici au brillant essai publié par Kandinsky en 1911 : Du spirituel dans l’art et dans la peinture en particulier. Car même s’il renvoie à toute une tradition de nuances terreuses qu’on trouve dans la peinture du XVIIe siècle, dans les tableaux noirs de Goya et plus généralement dans les œuvres de Gaudi, Materia sobre fusta amb oval s’inscrit dans un registre singulier qui n’appartient qu’à l’artiste le plus important qu’ait connu l’Espagne depuis Miro, celui du terrestre, de l’humain et du religieux. Car Tàpies a le pouvoir d’intellectualiser la matière, de donner un sens dramatique à un élément aussi simple que le sable. En le façonnant de ses mains, il arrive, comme par magie, à faire naître devant nous un monde sensible et intellectuel. Là est la trouvaille, dans le fait que les œuvres de Tàpies sont déterminées par la matière et non inversement, comme l’a très justement Bachelard dans un essai dont le titre est également aussi beau qu’envoûtant : L'eau et les rêves. Essai sur l'imagination de la matière.

Catalogue note
As powerful as it is monumental, imposing as it is frontal, Materia sobre fusta amb oval, perfectly illustrates the incomparable mastery of Tàpies, magician king of the history of Spanish art. With his unity of tone, as dissonant as it is harmonious, his recognizable and yet enigmatic forms, this painting seems to emanate a transcendental power. It is difficult not to recall Kandinsky’s brilliant essay published in 1911, On the Spiritual in Arta and in Painting in Particular. Because even if it refers to an entire tradition of earthy nuances found in 17^th century painting, in Goya’s black paintings and more generally in Gaudi’s works, Materia sobre fusta amb oval falls into a unique register that belongs only to the most important artist that Spain has known since Miro, an artist of the terrestrial, the human, the religious. Because Tàpies has the power to intellectualise matter, to give a dramatic meaning to an element as simple as sand. By moulding it with his hands, he manages as if by magic, to create a sensitive and intellectual world. This is a novelty, the fact that Tàpies’s works are determined by matter and not the opposite, as Bachelard rightly describes in an essay whose title is as beautiful as it is enchanting: L'eau et les rêves. Essai sur l'imagination de la matière (Water and dreams. Essay in the imagination of matter.ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ)