Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has bought an early painting by the legendary Spanish painter Joan Miró becoming the Rotterdam museum’s largest ever purchase. The museum is very grateful to the Rembrandt Association, the Mondriaan Fund, the Vriendenloterij and the dozens of Rotterdam funds and donors involved for their contributions to including the work in the Rotterdam collection, and thus the Netherlands Collection.
André Breton, founder of Surrealism, already called Miró “the greatest surrealist of us all. Peinture-poème (Musique, Seine, Michel, Bataille et moi) (1927) was officially added to the Highlights of the Boijmans collection on 29th September by Secretary of State for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu. The addition of the painting to the Surrealist collection is important for the museum, the only one in the Netherlands with such a collection, because any acquisition of Miró’s paintings was long considered impossible. The collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen includes surrealistic highlights by, among others, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Francis Picabia, René Magritte, Unica Zürn and Leonora Carrington. This collection can be called unique and was created with the support of funds, the government, and Boijmans’ many friends.
Gunay Uslu, State Secretary for Culture and Media: “This painting is an enrichment for the Netherlands Collection. It is an important link in Miró’s oeuvre and a reinforcement of the collection because of the influence he had on the CoBrA group. Thanks to the efforts of the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, the government, the Rembrandt Association and other donors, many people will soon be able to enjoy this beautiful work.” Sjarel Ex, director Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: “The surrealist collection explores the treasures and caverns of the human mind, proclaims the need for a new world order, is a resistance to hierarchy and bourgeoisie. The Surrealists are a unique part of the Rotterdam collection from which loans are requested weekly, if not daily from all over the world. A Miró like this has been missing since the beginning of the collection. But, once we know what we want, we have time. We can wait generations for a particular painting if necessary. The wait is over. All public and private funds, thank you very much for this wonderful addition to the Netherlands Collection.” 1st October 2022
