Hidden portrait of Miró's mother discovered under one of his paintings in Barcelona

There is more to Joan Miró's striking blue Pintura (Painting) than meets the eye. 

Beneath the surface lies a portrait of Dolors Ferrà Oromí, Miró's mother, researchers at Barcelona's Fundació Joan Miró have discovered. 

Pintura, an oil on canvas, was a gift from the Catalan artist to his friend Joan Prats, who kept it at his home until 1975, when it became part of the foundation's collection. 

A 1978 report described how the work had been poorly conserved, with small losses and cracks. 

An x-ray at the time revealed the presence of an underlying portrait of a woman, but her identity remained unknown until now. 

Investigation 

A team of researchers, led by the head of Preventive Conservation and Restoration at the Joan Miró Foundation, Elisabet Serrat, recently conducted a new scientific study using non-invasive techniques, involving institutions such as the Catalan Centre for the Restoration of Movable Heritage, Pablo de Olavide University of Seville, the Mas Miró Foundation, and the Miró Mallorca Foundation. 

The team investigated using photography, ultraviolet and infrared light, x-ray imaging, and hyperspectral imaging. To study the materials present in the layers of the painting, they used infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray detectors (SEM-EDX), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), and gas-mass chromatography (GC-MS). 

Critical stance 

The study concluded that when Miró created Pintura, he used a canvas that had a portrait painted by another artist as a base. 

This is not the only work by Miró in which he painted over paintings by other artists. He usually left a trace of the underlying paintings, invariably academic works that he always left partially exposed as a form of criticism against this type of art. 

Miró is famous after all for his desire to "murder painting."  

The musuem believes the original portrait of Miró's mother could have been painted by Cristòfol Montserrat Jorba (Vilanova i la Geltrú, 1869 – Barcelona, 1935). 

Three visibly raised clumps of paint in Miró's work correspond to a brooch and earrings in the portrait of her mother, which researchers believe was deliberate. 

Documentary and exhibition 

The research process was filmed and a documentary has been produced: El secret de Miró (The Secret of Miró), directed by Lluís Jené, exploring the possible reasons why Miró chose to conceal the image of his mother. 

The documentary premieres on Thursday and is available on the CaixaForum+ platform and the Miró Foundation's online channels. 

The exhibition Under the Layers of Miró: A Scientific Investigation runs until June 29. 

Podcast 

To learn more about Joan Miró, the Catalan who painted the stars, listen to the episode of Filling the Sink below, where Fundació Miró director Marko Daniel delves into the artist's life, work and infinite imagination.