1938
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Picasso Picasso later 1930s Miro Germany Germany II Bird Cars 1930s Cars 1938-39 Alfa Romeo
See also : Picasso Picasso later 1930s Miro Germany Germany II Bird Cars 1930s Cars 1938-39 Alfa Romeo
1938 PICASSO
1
January 12 Femme à la Résille
2015 SOLD for $ 67M by Christie's
After Guernica, Picasso accepts an evidence : he now has two mistresses. He loves them for opposite reasons and decides not to choose. The sweet Marie-Thérèse is the mother of Maya. Dora invites for a passionate affair.
Of course, the two women can not get along. Pablo is amused. He executes parallel portraits and goes to mix their features in the same figure. Presented in the anonymity of the sitter, these portraits do not reveal their identity with certainty.
On May 11, 2015, Christie's sold for $ 67M at lot 15A Buste de femme (femme à la résille), oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted in Paris on January 12, 1938.
In front of a bright red background, the colors of the skin and the clothes are also strident. In her enthusiasm, Dora insinuated that when he changed his mistress Picasso changed also his style, his life, his friends and even his dog.
The exotic funny hat and the fishnet do not belong to Marie-Thérèse but Dora is not the only desire of the artist who is embarrassed by the colorist glory of his great rival Matisse. The eyes on two different levels are not only the reconstruction of perspective in the Cubist style, they also mark the duality of this figure whose face includes some lines from Marie-Thérèse.
This painting was important to Pablo who will never parted from it.
Of course, the two women can not get along. Pablo is amused. He executes parallel portraits and goes to mix their features in the same figure. Presented in the anonymity of the sitter, these portraits do not reveal their identity with certainty.
On May 11, 2015, Christie's sold for $ 67M at lot 15A Buste de femme (femme à la résille), oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted in Paris on January 12, 1938.
In front of a bright red background, the colors of the skin and the clothes are also strident. In her enthusiasm, Dora insinuated that when he changed his mistress Picasso changed also his style, his life, his friends and even his dog.
The exotic funny hat and the fishnet do not belong to Marie-Thérèse but Dora is not the only desire of the artist who is embarrassed by the colorist glory of his great rival Matisse. The eyes on two different levels are not only the reconstruction of perspective in the Cubist style, they also mark the duality of this figure whose face includes some lines from Marie-Thérèse.
This painting was important to Pablo who will never parted from it.
2
January 14 Femme au Béret Rouge-Orange
2021 SOLD for $ 40.5M by Sotheby's
The duality of Picasso's mistresses in the post-Guernica period looks like a contest between the gentle Marie-Thérèse and the exuberant Dora. By mingling them in a single portrait, the artist is once again in quest of the ideal woman who would overcome both of them.
Some elements are readable by the viewer. Dora has a big hat and a dark hair and the blonde Marie-Thérèse has a beret. Picasso enjoys to blur such an identification by adding hidden symbols, in a surrealist mood, including in his choice of bold colors. This phase is highly experimental. The artist works for himself and keeps many of these pictures.
Femme au béret rouge-orange, a small size oil and ripolin on canvas 46 x 38 cm, was painted on January 14, 1938, two days after the dual Femme à la résille. On this new opus, the figure of Marie-Thérèse is obvious and no trace of Dora is appearing. Nevertheless the flamboyant color of the beret looks like a golden crown. Marie-Thérèse is the queen of that specific day. Dora will soon win the duel.
This opus went to Marina from Picasso's deceased estate. Coming now from the MGM art collection, it was sold for $ 40.5M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 11.
Some elements are readable by the viewer. Dora has a big hat and a dark hair and the blonde Marie-Thérèse has a beret. Picasso enjoys to blur such an identification by adding hidden symbols, in a surrealist mood, including in his choice of bold colors. This phase is highly experimental. The artist works for himself and keeps many of these pictures.
Femme au béret rouge-orange, a small size oil and ripolin on canvas 46 x 38 cm, was painted on January 14, 1938, two days after the dual Femme à la résille. On this new opus, the figure of Marie-Thérèse is obvious and no trace of Dora is appearing. Nevertheless the flamboyant color of the beret looks like a golden crown. Marie-Thérèse is the queen of that specific day. Dora will soon win the duel.
This opus went to Marina from Picasso's deceased estate. Coming now from the MGM art collection, it was sold for $ 40.5M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 11.
3
February 4 Fillette au Bateau, Maya
2023 SOLD for £ 18M by Sotheby's
Picasso had started January 1938 with a series of ambiguous portraits of his two muses, mingled unfairly for either. On January 16 he shifts to a much nicer subject : the gently smiling Maya, two years and a half old, his daughter by Marie-Thérèse.
He was delighted to find some resemblance of the pretty blonde girl with her mother. Maya was his second child. Keen to communicate and play with her in the appreciation of her own world at her level, he was redefining his artistic fatherhood in a full opposition with the mythological attire in the portraits of her half brother Paulo in the 1920s..
In this series the child is seated on the floor, gently holding a doll or a toy boat. The colors are joyously bright. The style may vary and the signature double perspective in the face is more or less important.
Fillette au bateau (Maya), oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm painted on February 4, 1938, was sold for £ 18M from a lower estimate of £ 12M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2023, lot 108.
He was delighted to find some resemblance of the pretty blonde girl with her mother. Maya was his second child. Keen to communicate and play with her in the appreciation of her own world at her level, he was redefining his artistic fatherhood in a full opposition with the mythological attire in the portraits of her half brother Paulo in the 1920s..
In this series the child is seated on the floor, gently holding a doll or a toy boat. The colors are joyously bright. The style may vary and the signature double perspective in the face is more or less important.
Fillette au bateau (Maya), oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm painted on February 4, 1938, was sold for £ 18M from a lower estimate of £ 12M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2023, lot 108.
4
May 7 Femme assise sur une Chaise
2015 SOLD for $ 20M by Sotheby's
Picasso's affair with Marie-Thérèse began with an aesthetic instinct : his young muse was a white-skinned variant of the African idols. Dora will shake Pablo out of his bliss by her fiery temperament.
Dora Maar became in 1937 the Weeping woman. Pablo himself felt that such an assimilation was unfair but the trauma of Guernica was too strong and he needed such a feminine symbol of misfortune.
The contrast between his two mistresses disturbs Pablo. He desires Dora but the overactive young woman is a mystery. The artist invents the dual portrait in which the face is drawn in profile with both eyes and both nostrils on the same side.
Dora manages to get the prime position in the heart of Pablo but without releasing her secrets. She remains elusive. On May 7, 1938, Pablo immobilizes her on a chair to make her portrait. This oil on canvas 125 x 87 cm was sold for $ 20M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2015, lot 24T. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Pablo reused the static theme of the locking by the chair for several years, including Dora Maar au Chat in 1941.
Dora Maar became in 1937 the Weeping woman. Pablo himself felt that such an assimilation was unfair but the trauma of Guernica was too strong and he needed such a feminine symbol of misfortune.
The contrast between his two mistresses disturbs Pablo. He desires Dora but the overactive young woman is a mystery. The artist invents the dual portrait in which the face is drawn in profile with both eyes and both nostrils on the same side.
Dora manages to get the prime position in the heart of Pablo but without releasing her secrets. She remains elusive. On May 7, 1938, Pablo immobilizes her on a chair to make her portrait. This oil on canvas 125 x 87 cm was sold for $ 20M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2015, lot 24T. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Pablo reused the static theme of the locking by the chair for several years, including Dora Maar au Chat in 1941.
5
December 10 Femme assise dans un jardin
1999 SOLD for $ 49.5M by Sotheby's
In 1935 Picasso was obsessed with his illusion of incarnation in the Minotaur. The sweet Marie-Thérèse, who gives birth to Maya, cannot help him in this satisfaction. He meets Dora Maar at that time.
Everything opposes the blonde and the brunette. Dora is a photographer and an artist. She is exuberant in the colors of her hats, brooches and nails, and her lipstick is too intense. As early as 1936 Picasso paints her in the nude, handed over to the Minotaur.
In 1937 Dora participates in the preparation of Guernica by Pablo and becomes his mistress. La Femme qui pleure is Dora's incorporation into the drama of Spain. From 1938 Pablo develops a new iconography of his goddess by placing her on a large armchair that looks like a throne.
On November 10, 1999, Sotheby's sold for $ 49.5M Femme assise dans un jardin, which is a portrait of Dora.
This 130 x 97 cm oil on canvas is an explosion of bright colors. Pablo painted it in a single day, December 10, 1938. The garden is a naive drawing of stylized branches. The war is temporarily forgotten.
Femme assise dans un jardin is illustrated in 2006 in an article shared by Artnet, alongside Dora Maar au chat which had just been sold by Sotheby's.
The resemblance is striking between these two works of same dimensions. The composition is similar. Dora Maar au chat, painted in 1941, is a war painting. The joyous freedom of the garden is replaced by a mere wall. This lockdown is compensated by a forced smile and the black cat, the only additional symbol that supersedes the garden, is an evil intrusion.
Everything opposes the blonde and the brunette. Dora is a photographer and an artist. She is exuberant in the colors of her hats, brooches and nails, and her lipstick is too intense. As early as 1936 Picasso paints her in the nude, handed over to the Minotaur.
In 1937 Dora participates in the preparation of Guernica by Pablo and becomes his mistress. La Femme qui pleure is Dora's incorporation into the drama of Spain. From 1938 Pablo develops a new iconography of his goddess by placing her on a large armchair that looks like a throne.
On November 10, 1999, Sotheby's sold for $ 49.5M Femme assise dans un jardin, which is a portrait of Dora.
This 130 x 97 cm oil on canvas is an explosion of bright colors. Pablo painted it in a single day, December 10, 1938. The garden is a naive drawing of stylized branches. The war is temporarily forgotten.
Femme assise dans un jardin is illustrated in 2006 in an article shared by Artnet, alongside Dora Maar au chat which had just been sold by Sotheby's.
The resemblance is striking between these two works of same dimensions. The composition is similar. Dora Maar au chat, painted in 1941, is a war painting. The joyous freedom of the garden is replaced by a mere wall. This lockdown is compensated by a forced smile and the black cat, the only additional symbol that supersedes the garden, is an evil intrusion.
1938 BECKMANN
1
Hölle der Vögel
2017 SOLD for £ 36M by Christie's
After the First World War, German artists like Max Beckmann, Max Ernst, George Grosz and Otto Dix brought social criticism to the level of a major art far beyond caricature. Of course the Nazi regime does not agree. Beckmann is one of the targets of Hitler's furious attacks on degenerate art.
Beckmann precipitately left Germany in 1937 and settled in Amsterdam. Like Miro at the same time in Spain, he could not manage to stay away from politics. He immediately conceived a great composition, first entitled Der Land des Wahnsinningen (the country of the insane) which would express his horror of the collectivisms.
Completed at the end of the summer of 1938, Hölle der Vögel (hell of birds) is the achievement of that project. This oil on canvas 120 x 160 cm was sold for £ 36M by Christie's on June 27, 2017, lot 11. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This scene mixes the medieval and the modern to better express the permanent threat of abject persecution. Tortures are inflicted by hooded birds. In a claustrophobic atmosphere with black lines and garish colors, the victim chained on an Inquisition bed is a light spot. A bird plows his back to the blood with a large knife.
This lugubrious ceremony is presided by a harpy standing out of her broken egg with a monstrous breast. The crowd of secondary characters is made up of screaming nudes who perform the Hitler Grüss, removing any possible doubt about the interpretation of this allegory in the modern world.
The narrative abundance in that work is inspired by medieval imagery. The choice of the bird as a symbol of blind fury reminds the man-swallowing bird in Bosch's Hell.
The political violence in Hölle der Vögel may be compared to Picasso's Guernica, also conceived in 1937. Beckmann's painting, cautiously preserved in a private apartment in Paris until the end of the Second World War, would have deserved a similar notoriety.
Beckmann precipitately left Germany in 1937 and settled in Amsterdam. Like Miro at the same time in Spain, he could not manage to stay away from politics. He immediately conceived a great composition, first entitled Der Land des Wahnsinningen (the country of the insane) which would express his horror of the collectivisms.
Completed at the end of the summer of 1938, Hölle der Vögel (hell of birds) is the achievement of that project. This oil on canvas 120 x 160 cm was sold for £ 36M by Christie's on June 27, 2017, lot 11. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This scene mixes the medieval and the modern to better express the permanent threat of abject persecution. Tortures are inflicted by hooded birds. In a claustrophobic atmosphere with black lines and garish colors, the victim chained on an Inquisition bed is a light spot. A bird plows his back to the blood with a large knife.
This lugubrious ceremony is presided by a harpy standing out of her broken egg with a monstrous breast. The crowd of secondary characters is made up of screaming nudes who perform the Hitler Grüss, removing any possible doubt about the interpretation of this allegory in the modern world.
The narrative abundance in that work is inspired by medieval imagery. The choice of the bird as a symbol of blind fury reminds the man-swallowing bird in Bosch's Hell.
The political violence in Hölle der Vögel may be compared to Picasso's Guernica, also conceived in 1937. Beckmann's painting, cautiously preserved in a private apartment in Paris until the end of the Second World War, would have deserved a similar notoriety.
.jpg)
2
Self Portrait with Horn
2001 SOLD for $ 22.5M by Sotheby's
Max Beckmann does not accept that his art is described as degenerate by Hitler. Painted in 1936, his self-portrait with a crystal ball is a poignant message : he would like to react but does not have the solution. He is only 52 but he certainly appreciates that his premature aging and his surly attitude will not help him. The shadow over the eyes does not encourage dialogue. This oil on canvas 110 x 65 cm was sold for $ 16.8M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2005.
In 1937 it is much worse. The Nazis confiscate 500 of his works from museums and include several in the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich. Threatened with imprisonment and castration, Beckmann flees Germany and settles in his sister-in-law's home in Amsterdam.
His works mark then a desire for revenge, now with a scathing criticism of the Nazi regime. On May 10, 2001, Sotheby's sold for $ 22.5M a Self-portrait with horn, oil on canvas 110 x 100 cm painted in 1938. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The instrument is not played but brandished at the height of the closed mouth like a helpless challenge. The sullen mouth expresses anxiety and once again the eyes are in the shade. The striped jacket resembles the uniform of a convict or a Harlequin.
In 1937 it is much worse. The Nazis confiscate 500 of his works from museums and include several in the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich. Threatened with imprisonment and castration, Beckmann flees Germany and settles in his sister-in-law's home in Amsterdam.
His works mark then a desire for revenge, now with a scathing criticism of the Nazi regime. On May 10, 2001, Sotheby's sold for $ 22.5M a Self-portrait with horn, oil on canvas 110 x 100 cm painted in 1938. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The instrument is not played but brandished at the height of the closed mouth like a helpless challenge. The sullen mouth expresses anxiety and once again the eyes are in the shade. The striped jacket resembles the uniform of a convict or a Harlequin.
1938 Water Carriers in Sichuan by Xu Beihong
2010 SOLD for RMB 170M by Hanhai
In 1937, after the capture of Nanjing by the Japanese, the Chinese government relocates in Chongqing in Sichuan. An unwavering patriot encouraging the heroism through his art, Xu Beihong moves to Chongqing in that year.
A scene of water bearers painted by Xu Beihong in 1938 in a bold vertical composition is located in that new wartime capital. Seven men in four groups draw the water and carry it to the top of the hill through steep stairs. This scene is displaying a traditional harsh activity in the then symbolic location of Chinese freedom.
This painting 300 x 62 cm in ink and color is titled Ba-ren-ji-shui (Water carriers in Sichuan). Its style is highly realistic both for the figures of the routine barefoot workers and for the mountainous scenery.
It was sold for RMB 170M by Hanhai on December 11, 2010. It is illustrated in the post sale report shared by Artron.
A new park is inaugurated in Chongqing in 2024 around the real location of Xu's Ba-ren-ji-shui. The stunning representation of the real stairs by the artist is demonstrated in the report shared by the city of Chongqing. The mighty waterfall had not been useful for Xu's social message and was omitted in his painting.
Xu created more than 300 artworks while he was in Chongqing from 1937 to 1946.
A scene of water bearers painted by Xu Beihong in 1938 in a bold vertical composition is located in that new wartime capital. Seven men in four groups draw the water and carry it to the top of the hill through steep stairs. This scene is displaying a traditional harsh activity in the then symbolic location of Chinese freedom.
This painting 300 x 62 cm in ink and color is titled Ba-ren-ji-shui (Water carriers in Sichuan). Its style is highly realistic both for the figures of the routine barefoot workers and for the mountainous scenery.
It was sold for RMB 170M by Hanhai on December 11, 2010. It is illustrated in the post sale report shared by Artron.
A new park is inaugurated in Chongqing in 2024 around the real location of Xu's Ba-ren-ji-shui. The stunning representation of the real stairs by the artist is demonstrated in the report shared by the city of Chongqing. The mighty waterfall had not been useful for Xu's social message and was omitted in his painting.
Xu created more than 300 artworks while he was in Chongqing from 1937 to 1946.
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B
2019 SOLD for € 16.7M by Artcurial
At the time of totalitarianism, motor racing became a major showcase of high-tech know-how. To compete with the Silver Arrows, Alfa Romeo develops a stiffened chassis and an independent suspension with which it equips the Tipo C for the grand prix and the 6C 2300 B for grand touring.
Under the direct control of the Italian government, Alfa Romeo improves the performance of its luxury and sports cars throughout the 1930s by the skill of the engineer Vittorio Jano. The 6-cylinder version (6C) grows in several stages from 1750 to 2500 cc. Aimed at the high end, the 8-cylinder version (8C) is created in 1931 with 2300 cc. Introduced in 1935 the 8C 2900 A targets the endurance racing.
The grand touring model 8C 2900 B is available with a straight 8 engine in two wheel bases from 1937 : Corto and Lungo, 2.80 m and 3 m respectively. It was the fastest commercial car of its time. A racing version averaged 210 km/h over a 80 km section of autostrada.
Alfa Romeo has special relationships with two body shops that offer dissimilar products. A 8C 2900 B assembled by Pinin Farina in cabriolet was sold for $ 4.1M by Christie's on August 28, 1999.
In Milan also, Carrozzeria Touring patented in 1936 its Superleggera technology : after advanced aerodynamic studies, this company offers all-metal bodies, a novelty at that time. Alfa Romeo actively supports this development that will enable its Lungo variant to compete advantageously with the heavy Mercedes-Benz 540K.
In 1937 Touring develops two bodies for the new 8C 2900 B : a spider for the short chassis and a berlinetta for the long chassis. The closed cockpit allows a body made entirely of aluminum unlike the spider which requires reinforcements in steel. For this reason the spider is heavier than the coupe. It will also be built for the long chassis.
The war interrupted this activity. Indeed in 1939 Alfa Romeo is already offering the features that will make the success of sports cars after the war : the open spider from as early as 1931, and the closed berlinetta.
The total population of 8C 2900 B Touring berlinettas is five units. The second, built in 1938, is titled 1939, the date of its registration in the United Kingdom. It was used sparingly except for a brief period in the 1950s and was carefully maintained by its successive owners without ever being disassembled.
Remaining since 1976 in a single collection, it was sold for € 16.7M by Artcurial on February 8, 2019, lot 20. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Two other 8C 2900 B berlinettas by Touring were awarded the highly prestigious Best Of Show of Pebble Beach's Concours d'Elegance, in 2008 and 2018 respectively.
Under the direct control of the Italian government, Alfa Romeo improves the performance of its luxury and sports cars throughout the 1930s by the skill of the engineer Vittorio Jano. The 6-cylinder version (6C) grows in several stages from 1750 to 2500 cc. Aimed at the high end, the 8-cylinder version (8C) is created in 1931 with 2300 cc. Introduced in 1935 the 8C 2900 A targets the endurance racing.
The grand touring model 8C 2900 B is available with a straight 8 engine in two wheel bases from 1937 : Corto and Lungo, 2.80 m and 3 m respectively. It was the fastest commercial car of its time. A racing version averaged 210 km/h over a 80 km section of autostrada.
Alfa Romeo has special relationships with two body shops that offer dissimilar products. A 8C 2900 B assembled by Pinin Farina in cabriolet was sold for $ 4.1M by Christie's on August 28, 1999.
In Milan also, Carrozzeria Touring patented in 1936 its Superleggera technology : after advanced aerodynamic studies, this company offers all-metal bodies, a novelty at that time. Alfa Romeo actively supports this development that will enable its Lungo variant to compete advantageously with the heavy Mercedes-Benz 540K.
In 1937 Touring develops two bodies for the new 8C 2900 B : a spider for the short chassis and a berlinetta for the long chassis. The closed cockpit allows a body made entirely of aluminum unlike the spider which requires reinforcements in steel. For this reason the spider is heavier than the coupe. It will also be built for the long chassis.
The war interrupted this activity. Indeed in 1939 Alfa Romeo is already offering the features that will make the success of sports cars after the war : the open spider from as early as 1931, and the closed berlinetta.
The total population of 8C 2900 B Touring berlinettas is five units. The second, built in 1938, is titled 1939, the date of its registration in the United Kingdom. It was used sparingly except for a brief period in the 1950s and was carefully maintained by its successive owners without ever being disassembled.
Remaining since 1976 in a single collection, it was sold for € 16.7M by Artcurial on February 8, 2019, lot 20. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Two other 8C 2900 B berlinettas by Touring were awarded the highly prestigious Best Of Show of Pebble Beach's Concours d'Elegance, in 2008 and 2018 respectively.
1938 La Caresse des Etoiles by Miro
2008 SOLD for $ 17M by Christie's
Joan Miro is a poet of graphic art. He would have liked his bright colors to express hopes in front of the social difficulties of Spain, but a poet cannot be a warrior. In October 1936, three months after the outbreak of the civil war, he goes into exile in Paris.
In 1937, Miro's political commitment becomes visible. In the pavilion of the Spanish Republic at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, he paints El Segador, a set of panels of 5.5 m total height. The reaper is a symbol of Catalan nationalism. He screams his desperation, not far from the horse of Guernica.
La Caresse des Etoiles, oil on canvas 60 x 69 cm painted in July 1938, is one of these forcedly optimistic pictures as evidenced by the title which gathers two pleasures. As often with Miro, a closer inspection reveals a more tragic message.
A family of four highly stylized characters are watching the sky in a starred night. The character on the foreground displays the same symbols as El Segador, supplying a political signature to the artwork. His open mouth is screaming some revolutionary statement. The woman has a cat's head while the head of the central child is the sun.
It was probably painted in Varengeville, the village in Normandy where Miro spent the summer, and where he will execute his masterpiece series of Constellations two years later.
This significant painting was hidden by Pierre Loeb during the Nazi occupation and acquired from him at the Liberation by an agent of the US information services while stationing in Paris. Coming in his deceased estate and then unknown to Dupin, it was sold by Christie's for $ 11.8M on November 3, 2004, lot 11. It was sold again by Christie's for $ 17M on May 6, 2008, lot 33.
L'Air is an oil on canvas painted by Miro in 1938. Its small size, 55 x 46 cm, is probably correlated with the difficulties of working in exile in an exiguous studio. It was sold for $ 10.3M by Christie's on November 3, 2010, lot 25 and for £ 12M by Sotheby's on June 19, 2019, lot 16. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The composition is divided into two registers. The lower part is red and gold, the colors of the Catalan flag, slightly different from the red and yellow of Spain. The golden landscape is inhabited by an ugly red snake with a simplified effigy of Franco that approaches a biomorphic creature to swallow or despoil it.
The horizon is composed of three volcanoes, two of which have open craters. They project in the night blue sky other biomorphic emanations that float freely therein. In this Air of hope, a human face smiles, hardly visible in the eye of a sort of giant chimera.
In 1937, Miro's political commitment becomes visible. In the pavilion of the Spanish Republic at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, he paints El Segador, a set of panels of 5.5 m total height. The reaper is a symbol of Catalan nationalism. He screams his desperation, not far from the horse of Guernica.
La Caresse des Etoiles, oil on canvas 60 x 69 cm painted in July 1938, is one of these forcedly optimistic pictures as evidenced by the title which gathers two pleasures. As often with Miro, a closer inspection reveals a more tragic message.
A family of four highly stylized characters are watching the sky in a starred night. The character on the foreground displays the same symbols as El Segador, supplying a political signature to the artwork. His open mouth is screaming some revolutionary statement. The woman has a cat's head while the head of the central child is the sun.
It was probably painted in Varengeville, the village in Normandy where Miro spent the summer, and where he will execute his masterpiece series of Constellations two years later.
This significant painting was hidden by Pierre Loeb during the Nazi occupation and acquired from him at the Liberation by an agent of the US information services while stationing in Paris. Coming in his deceased estate and then unknown to Dupin, it was sold by Christie's for $ 11.8M on November 3, 2004, lot 11. It was sold again by Christie's for $ 17M on May 6, 2008, lot 33.
L'Air is an oil on canvas painted by Miro in 1938. Its small size, 55 x 46 cm, is probably correlated with the difficulties of working in exile in an exiguous studio. It was sold for $ 10.3M by Christie's on November 3, 2010, lot 25 and for £ 12M by Sotheby's on June 19, 2019, lot 16. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The composition is divided into two registers. The lower part is red and gold, the colors of the Catalan flag, slightly different from the red and yellow of Spain. The golden landscape is inhabited by an ugly red snake with a simplified effigy of Franco that approaches a biomorphic creature to swallow or despoil it.
The horizon is composed of three volcanoes, two of which have open craters. They project in the night blue sky other biomorphic emanations that float freely therein. In this Air of hope, a human face smiles, hardly visible in the eye of a sort of giant chimera.
