A sculpture by the Spanish artist Joan Miró will go on show today at the Irish Museum Of Modern Art (IMMA) as part of a two-year loan deal.
The two-metre-high bronze sculpture Personnage(1974) has been loaned to the Museum by Successió Miró, the Miró Estate. It was presented to the museum today by members of the artist's family.
Joan Miró, Personnage, Collection Irish Museum of Modern Art, Loan, Successió Miró, 2006, Image © Successió Miró
According to IMMA, the work is particularly noteworthy as it marks a return by Miró to modelling in wax or plaster after a long period of producing mainly assemblage sculptures.
The director of IMMA, Enrique Juncosa, said: "We are delighted to add this important work by Miró to the IMMA sculpture collection. We are hoping, in the coming years, to make greater use of our magnificent grounds, involving the display of a number of different sculptures by some major artists."
Born in Barcelona in 1893, Joan Miró is recognised for his contribution to surrealist and modern art. His varied body of work, drawn from the realm of memory and imaginative fantasy and created over 75 years, is among the most original of the 20th century.
His paintings are instantly recognisable from their distinctive use of bright colours - especially blue, red, yellow, green and black - and their unaffected mixture of childlike innocence and artistic sophistication.
Sculpture became a major focus of his work in the 1960s and 1970s.
Personnagewill initially be sited in the courtyard at IMMA, but the museum said it may be moved to another location at a later date.
