85 paintings of Juan Miró were auctioned Automatic translate

On Tuesday, Christie’s auction house canceled the sale of 85 paintings by the Catalan surrealist Juan Miro due to, as the official statement said, legal uncertainties arose. The seller of the collection was the Portuguese government.

This Miro collection is considered one of the largest in the world and is valued at more than 35 million euros (47 million dollars). The collection of works fell into the ownership of the Portuguese authorities after the nationalization of the bankrupt bank Banco Portugues de Negocios (BPN) in 2008. Juan Miro died in 1983, at the age of 90, leaving behind a rich creative heritage. The determining direction of creativity of the master and his art school - abstract art. He is called one of the founders of avant-garde and surrealism. Juan Miro was not only a painter, but also a sculpture, designer, graphic artist. He skillfully combined abstractions and real images in his works, experimenting with colors and materials.

On the eve of Christie’s auction, scheduled for February 4 and 5, it became known that more than 9,200 Portuguese citizens signed an online petition to preserve the masterpieces of painting for the people of Portugal, despite the drastic austerity measures that the country has followed over the past three years.

“The legal uncertainties created by the ongoing dispute over the collection mean that we can’t safely put up paintings for sale,” said the representative of the auction house two hours before the auction.

Of all the works of the collection, the most valuable painting is Femmes et oiseaux (Women and Birds), painted in 1968. The estimated cost of the work is estimated at 4.8 - 8.3 million euros.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru