ART & ARCHITECTURE / FUNDACIO MIRO / PALMA
Ever since Miró was born in 1893, he had a lifelong dream: to live and work on Mallorca. His mother was from the island and during his childhood, he would often travel by ferry from Barcelona, where he lived, to visit his grandmother in Sóller. The dramatic landscape of the island, together with the soft warm light, helped him discover the visual images and symbols that would become characteristic of his work.
In 1929, he married Pilar Juncosa, who was also native of the island. Together, they planned for a future on the island and in 1956, the dream could finally be realized. He lived here until his death in 1983. In the (then) small town of Son Abrines, in the Cala Major district just outside of central Palma. Next to the place where he would build his home and atelier, he purchased a rural house, called Son Boter, which allowed him to have a small cluster of studios. This is also where he would come to create almost a third of all his works.
In Son Abrines, Miró could focus on his work without being disturbed, and the time he spent on the island was a period of incessant and disciplined working on paintings, sculptures and other creative expressions. After Miró’s death, his widow donated the land where the museum currently stands as well as finance the construction of the foundation. In 1992, it was opened to the public.
The foundation is made up of three separate buildings, that together are considered one of Mallorca’s most important architectural oeuvres. Most famous of the three is the Sert Studio, designed by Miró’s close friend, Josep Lluis Sert. It is joined by Son Boter, the 18th century house that was already present on an adjacent lot, as well as the Moneo Building which is the headquarters of the foundation, designed by Rafael Moneo.
¨An important demand from Miró was that work and storage areas were kept separate, so that he could keep his distance from any artworks that had already been completed.¨
“Architecture itself can become a sculpture”.
The Sert Studio was designed to fit with the terrain’s hillside terraces. It was created through dialogue between the architect and the artist, where Miró explained his professional needs and Sert translated this into his plans for the building. An important demand from Miró was that work and storage areas were kept separate, so that he could keep his distance from any artworks that had already been completed. Sert also had to make sure that the space could contain large paintings, including entire murals, such as his Cincinatti mural. The materials used were traditionally Mediterranean, such as stone and clay. Particular attention was given to colour, especially the south façade (facing the sea), where white concrete is contrasted with blue, red, yellow and terracotta woodwork. The building is not however to be considered a case to fill with art, but, according to Sert, should be viewed along the lines that “Architecture itself can become a sculpture”.
¨If Sert Studio represented contemporary and novel ideas on how to construct buildings on Mallorca, Son Boter was based in the typical and traditional.¨
If Sert Studio represented contemporary and novel ideas on how to construct buildings on Mallorca, Son Boter was based in the typical and traditional. It was bought three years after Sert Studio was completed, through the prize money that Miró was awarded by the Guggenheim International Award, given to him for the two murals that he created for the Paris UNESCO building. Son Boter was however not only another space for Miró to create, it also offered further distance and shelter from what he described as “bothersome neighbours”.
