Personnage Gothique, Oiseau-Eclair, Bronze sculpture in National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, United States
Personnage Gothique, Oiseau-Eclair is a large bronze sculpture made from cast forms and found objects combined together. The work stands approximately 14 feet (4.5 meters) tall and merges abstract and organic shapes into an ambiguous human figure.
Joan Miró created this bronze work in 1974 during his later years when he turned from painting to large-scale sculpture. The piece emerged at a time when the artist deepened his experimental approach and explored new casting techniques.
The sculpture combines everyday objects like a cardboard box and a donkey collar cast in bronze to create a figure. This approach invites visitors to see familiar items transformed into something unexpected and thought-provoking.
The sculpture is on display year-round in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, which offers free entry to all visitors. The grounds provide ample space to walk around and view this large work from multiple angles.
This is the second and final cast version of the work and the only one completed during Miró's lifetime. The bronze bears the artist's signature and foundry mark as evidence of his personal involvement in its creation.
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