BARCELONA.- Edouard Beslay, French Consul General in Barcelona, presented the insignia of Knight of the National Order of Merit of the French Republic to Rosa Maria Malet, director of the Fundació Joan Miró, during a ceremony at the Consul’s residency, attended by the Miró family and the Board of Trustees of the Fundació Joan Miró, among others. Rosa Maria Malet has expressed her gratitude. The aim of this distinction is “to acknowledge the work of Rosa Maria Malet at the Fundació Joan Miró in promoting relations between France and Spain in the fields of art and culture”.

The distinction, which together with the Legion of Honour is one of the greatest French National Orders, may be awarded to citizens of any country in the world who have distinguished themselves in their field of work. It was created in 1963 as a recognition of services rendered, merits and dedication in a modern society where the State rewards its citizens for their solidarity and efforts, and general interest in all areas: economic, social, cultural and any other activity at the service of the country.

Rosa Maria Malet has been the director of the Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, since 1980. She holds a degree in Philosophy and the Arts, in the speciality of Art History, from the University of Barcelona. In 1975 she joined the Fundació Joan Miró as Assistant Curator, becoming Curator between May 1976 and September 1980, in charge of cataloguing, registering and maintaining an inventory of the works donated by Joan Miró for the Museum’s collection. In 1978 she spent time in Palma de Mallorca on several occasions while organising and cataloguing the fonds of graphic work by Joan Miró, which the artist had bequeathed to members of his family. Rosa Maria Malet is a member of ADOM (Association for the Defence of the Work of Miró), created in 1985 with the aim of protecting, developing and disseminating knowledge of the work of the artist, and certifying Joan Miró’s graphic work by decision of the Successió Miró.