Joan MirÓ

Born: April 20, 1893
Montroig, Spain
Died: December 25, 1983
Palma de Majorca, Spain
Spanish painter

The Spanish painter Joan Miró was one of the first surrealists (artists who created art that emphasized fantastic imagery who were part of a movement called surrealism that began in the early twentieth century). Miró developed a highly personalized visual language that originated from prehistoric and natural sources.

Early life

Joan Miró was born the first son of Michel Miró Adziras and Dolores Ferra on April 20, 1893, in Montroig near Barcelona, Spain. He came from a long line of hardworking craftsmen, and his father also worked as a goldsmith and a watchmaker. Although Miró did poorly at school, he began drawing regularly at the age of eight. (His sketchbooks of 1905 contain nature studies from Tarragona and Palma de Majorca, both areas in Spain). In 1907 he attended the Lonja School of Fine Arts in Barcelona where he received encouragement from his teachers. After a brief period working as a clerk, he attended the Gali School of Art in 1912, also in Barcelona.

Career begins

After Miró completed his artistic education in Barcelona, he produced portraits and landscapes in the Fauve manner, a style of painting popular around 1900 that emphasized brilliant and aggressive colors. He had his first one-man show in Barcelona in 1918 and later that year he became a member of the Agrupacio Courbet, to which the ceramist Joseph Llorenz Artigas belonged.

In 1919 Miró made his first trip to Paris, France, and thereafter he spent the winters in Paris and the summers in Montroig. He met members of the Dada group, an artistic and literary movement which sought to expand the boundaries of conventional (having to do with the common and the unoriginal) art. His first one-man show in Paris was held in 1921 and his paintings of this period reflect cubist (having to do with an artistic movement in the early twentieth century which used geometric shapes) influences. His painting, Montroig (The Olive Grove; 1919), for example, has a frontal, geometric pattern greatly influenced by cubism.

The Tilled Field (1923–1924) marked the turning point in Miró's art toward a personal style. In the midst of a landscape with animals and delicately drawn objects are a large ear and eye; thus the person of the painter comes into the picture. The change in his art was furthered by his encounter with the works of Paul Klee (1879–1940), Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), and Jean Arp (1887–1966).

Miró's message

Miró's aim was to rediscover the sources of human feeling, to create poetry by way of painting, using a vocabulary of signs and symbols, plastic metaphors (an implied similarity between two different things), and dream images to express definite themes. He had a genuine sense of humor and a lively wit, which also characterized his art. His chief consideration was social, to get close to the great masses of humanity, and he was deeply convinced that art can make a genuine appeal only when returning to the roots of experience. In this respect Miró's attitude can be compared to that of Klee.

Miró was connected with the surrealists from 1924 to 1930. Surrealism was a source of inspiration to him, and he made use of its methods; however, he never accepted any surrealist "doctrine," or teachings. Rather, his art, like Klee's, seems more connected to modern fantastic art. Under the impact of surrealism Miró painted the Harlequin's Carnival (1924-1925) with its frantic movement of semiabstract (having both recognizable and unrecognizable qualities) forms. In 1926 he worked together with Max Ernst (1891–1976) on the sets and costumes for Sergei Diaghilev's ballet Roméo et Juliette.

Larger works and legacy

In 1936 Miró fled to Paris during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39; a revolt against the conservative Republican government). The following year he created a large mural, the Reaper, for the Spanish Pavilion at the International Exposition in Paris. His work began to achieve great power through increased simplicity, intensified color, and abstraction, as in the Bullfight (1945), Woman and Bird in Moonlight (1949), and Painting (1953). He was awarded the Grand Prix International at the Venice Biennale for his graphic work.

Miró's most famous monumental works are the two ceramic walls, Night and Day (1957–59) , for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) building in Paris; the mural painting (1950) and the ceramic mural (1960) for Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the ceramic mural (1967) for the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In 1975 Miró demonstrated his devotion to his native country with the donation of the Miró Foundation to the city of Barcelona, Spain. The building, which houses his works and the exhibitions of other artists, was designed by the artist's great friend, Josep Lluis Sert. One exhibition room was dedicated to the showing of works by young artists who had not yet been discovered by the public. Miró died in Palma de Majorca, Spain, on December 25, 1983, at the age of ninety.

Miró enjoyed international acclaim during his long and productive career. He was one of the many outstanding Spaniards—including Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Juan Gris (1887–1927), Salvador Dali (1904–1989), and Francis Picabia—who, by belonging to the School of Paris, helped to establish the high esteem in which it was held during the first half of the twentieth century. And like many of those other artists, Miró continued to energetically produce his art and to experiment with form and subject long after the years of his initial celebrity had passed.

For More Information

Bernier, Rosamond. Matisse, Picasso, Miró: As I Knew Them. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.

Diehl, Gaston. Miró. New York: Crown Publishers, 1988.

Ross, Nicholas. Miró. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's, 1995.

Joan Miró

The Spanish painter Joan Miró (1893-1983), one of the first surrealists, developed a highly personalized pictorial language derived from prehistoric and naive sources.

Joan Miró was born on April 20, 1893, in Montroig near Barcelona. At the age of 8 he was drawing regularly. His sketchbooks of 1905 contain nature studies from Tarragona and Palma de Majorca. He attended the Lonja School of Fine Arts (1907-1909) and the Gali School of Art (1912-1915) in Barcelona, after which he produced portraits and landscapes in the Fauve manner. He had his first one-man show in Barcelona in 1918. That year he became a member of the Agrupacio Courbet, to which the ceramist Joseph Llorenz Artigas belonged.

In 1919 Miró made his first trip to Paris, and thereafter he spent the winters in Paris and the summers in Montroig. He met members of the Dada group and took part in Dada activities. His first one-man show in Paris was held in 1921. His paintings of this period reflect cubist influences; Montroig (The Olive Grove; 1919), for example, has a frontal, geometric pattern derived from cubism.

The Tilled Field (1923-1924) marked the turning point in Miró's art toward a personal style. In the midst of a rustic landscape with animals and delicately drawn objects are a large ear and eye; thus the person of the painter comes into the picture. The change in his art was furthered by his encounter with the works of Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Jean Arp.

Miró's aim was to rediscover the sources of human feeling, to create poetry by way of painting, using a vocabulary of signs and symbols, plastic metaphors, and dream images to express definite themes. He had a genuine sense of humor and a lively wit, which also characterized his art. His chief consideration was social, to get close to the great masses of humanity. He was deeply convinced that the art of our age can make a genuine appeal only when returning to the roots of experience. In this respect his attitude can be compared to that of Klee.

Miró was connected with the surrealists from 1924 to 1930. Surrealism was a source of inspiration to him, and he made use of its methods; however, he never accepted any surrealist "doctrine." Rather, his art, like Klee's, belongs to modern fantastic art. Under the impact of surrealism Miró painted the Harlequin's Carnival (1924-1925) with its frantic movement of semiabstract forms. In 1926 he collaborated with Max Ernst on the sets and costumes for Sergei Diaghilev's ballet Roméo et Juliette.

In 1928 Miró visited the Netherlands; inspired by the Dutch masters, he executed the series of "Dutch Interiors." In his Dutch Interior II (1928) objects are endowed with a fantastic animation and personality and float in ambiguous space. In 1928-1929 he made his first collages and papiers collés (pasted papers). He married in 1929, and his daughter, Dolores, was born in 1931. Important exhibitions of Miró's work took place in Paris in 1928, 1930, 1931, and 1932 and in New York in 1932. He designed the scenery and costumes for Léonide Massine's ballet Jeux d'enfants in 1932.

In 1936 Miró fled the Civil War in Spain and lived in Paris. The following year he executed a large mural, the Reaper, for the Spanish Pavilion at the International Exposition in Paris. He settled in Palma de Majorca in 1940. The series of gouaches entitled "Constellations" (1940-1941) are full of delicate beauty and gaiety. In 1944 he produced his first ceramics with Artigas's assistance and also executed a series of paintings on irregular pieces of canvas. The following year Miró painted a number of large compositions. His work achieved great power through increased simplicity, intensified color, and abstraction, as in the Bullfight (1945), Woman and Bird in Moonlight (1949), and Painting (1953). He was awarded the Grand Prix International at the Venice Biennale for his graphic work.

Miró's most famous monumental works are the two ceramic walls (1957-1959), Night and Day, for the UNESCO building in Paris, executed with Artigas; the mural painting (1950) and the ceramic mural (1960) for Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the ceramic mural (1967) for the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In 1975 Miró demonstrated his devotion to his native country with the donation of the Miró Foundation to the city of Barcelona. The building, which houses his works and the exhibitions of other artists, was designed by the artist's great friend, Josep Lluis Sert. One exhibition room was dedicated to the showing of works by young artists who had not yet been discovered by the public. Miró died in 1983 at the age of 90.

Miró enjoyed international acclaim during his long and innovative career. He was one of the many outstanding Spaniards—including Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Salvador Dali, Julio González, and Francis Picabia—who, by belonging to the School of Paris, helped to establish the high esteem in which it was held during the first half of the 20th century. And like many of those other artists, Miró continued to energetically produce his art and to experiment with form and subject long after the years of his initial celebrity had passed.

Further Reading

The most comprehensive study of Miró is Jacques Dupin, Miró (trans. 1962), which contains a classified catalog and bibliography. The first monograph on the artist was written by James Johnson Sweeney, Joan Miró (1941). See also Rosa Maria Malet's Joan Miró (1983) and James Thrall Soby's Joan Miró (1980). Other monographs are Clement Greenberg, Joan Miró (1948), and Sam Hunter, Joan Miró: His Graphic Work (1958). In addition, there are numerous Internet web sites devoted in whole or in part to Miró and his works. □

Miró, Joan (1893–1983). Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer. The son of a prosperous goldsmith, he was born in Barcelona and studied there at La Lonja Academy of Fine Arts, 1907–10, and after two years working as a clerk, at an art school run in a liberal spirit by the painter Francisco Gal’ (1880–1965). In 1917 he met Picabia and in 1918 he had his first one-man show (a failure) at the gallery of the Barcelona dealer José Dalmau. He first visited Paris in 1919 and from then until 1936 (when the Spanish Civil War began) his regular pattern was to spend the winter in Paris and the summer at his family's farm at Montroig, about 70 miles from Barcelona.

Miró's early paintings show the influence of various modern movements—Fauvism, Cubism (he was a friend of Picasso), and Dadaism—but he is particularly associated with the Surrealists, whose first manifesto he signed in 1924. Throughout his life, whether his work was purely abstract or whether it retained figurative suggestions, Miró remained true to the basic Surrealist principle of releasing the creative forces of the unconscious mind from the control of logic and reason. However, even though André Breton wrote that he was ‘probably the most Surrealistic of us all', Miró stood apart from the other members of the movement in the variety, geniality, and lack of attitudinizing in his work. Mixing abstraction, primitivism, and elements of a personal mythology, it lies outside all classification and shows none of the superficial devices beloved of other Surrealists. One of the works in which he first displayed an unmistakable personal vision is Harlequin's Carnival (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1924–5), featuring a bizarre assembly of insect-like creatures dancing and making music—a scene inspired by ‘my hallucinations brought on by hunger'. Much of his work has the delightful quality of playfulness seen in this picture, but he was inspired to much more sombre and even savage imagery by the Spanish Civil War, during which he designed propaganda posters for the Republicans fighting against Franco.

Miró settled in Paris in 1936 because of the Civil War, but in 1940 he returned to Spain to escape the German occupation of France and thereafter lived mainly on the island of Majorca. It was from about this time that he began to achieve international recognition, a milestone in this respect being a large retrospective exhibition devoted to him at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1941. For the rest of his long life he worked with great energy in a wide variety of fields and with an unquenchable thirst for experiment. In 1944 he began making ceramics in collaboration with the potter Josep Llorens Artigas (1892–1980), and slightly later he took up sculpture, initially small-scale terracottas, but eventually large-scale pieces for casting in bronze. He visited the USA for the first time in 1947 and did a large mural for the Terrace Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. This fulfilled his desire to communicate with a large public, and several of his major works of the 1950s were in a similar vein: a mural for Harvard University in 1950 (now replaced by a ceramic copy; the original is in MOMA, New York) and two vast ceramic wall decorations, Wall of the Sun and Wall of the Moon (installed 1958), for the Unesco Building in Paris: ‘I'd like to get beyond easel painting, which in my opinion pursues a petty aim, and find ways of getting closer, in terms of painting, to the broad mass of human beings who have always been in my thoughts.’ Another aspect of his desire to make his art widely accessible is his productivity as a printmaker (etchings and lithographs). He continued to explore new techniques into his old age, taking up stained-glass design when he was in his eighties.

In spite of the world-wide fame he acquired, he was a modest, retiring character, utterly devoted to his work, and in one of his rare public statements he criticized Picasso for what seemed to him like a mania for publicity. The Foundation Joan Miró was opened in 1975 on the heights of Montjuic overlooking Barcelona. It is designed both as a memorial museum housing a collection of Miró's works and as a centre of artistic activity. Other examples of his large output are in many major collections of modern art.

Miró, Joan (b Barcelona, 20 Apr. 1893; d Palma de Mallorca, 25 Dec. 1983). Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and designer. He first visited Paris in 1919 and from then until 1936 (when the Spanish Civil War began) his regular pattern was to spend the winter in Paris and the summer at his family's farm near Barcelona. His early work shows the influence of various modern movements—Fauvism, Cubism (he was a friend of Picasso), and Dadaism—but he is particularly associated with the Surrealists, whose first manifesto he signed in 1924. Throughout his life, whether his work was purely abstract or whether it retained figurative suggestions, Miró remained true to the basic Surrealist principle of releasing the creative forces of the unconscious mind from the control of logic and reason. However, even though André Breton wrote that he was ‘probably the most Surrealistic of us all’, Miró was never a formal member of the movement and always stood somewhat apart because of the variety, geniality, and lack of attitudinizing in his work, which shows none of the superficial devices beloved of other Surrealists. One of the works in which he first displayed an unmistakable personal vision is Harlequin's Carnival (1924–5, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo), featuring a bizarre assembly of insect-like creatures dancing and making music—a scene inspired by ‘my hallucinations brought on by hunger’. Much of his work has the delightful quality of playfulness seen in this picture, but he was inspired to much more sombre and even savage imagery by the Spanish Civil War, during which he designed propaganda posters for the Republicans fighting against Franco.

Miró settled in Paris in 1936 because of the Civil War, but in 1940 he returned to Spain to escape the German occupation of France and thereafter lived mainly on the island of Majorca. It was from about this time that he began to achieve international recognition. For the rest of his long life he worked with great energy in a wide variety of fields. In 1944 he began making ceramics and slightly later he took up sculpture, initially small terracottas but eventually large-scale pieces for casting in bronze. He visited the USA for the first time in 1947 and did a large mural for the Terrace Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. This fulfilled his desire to communicate with a large public, and several of his major works of the 1950s were in a similar vein: a mural for Harvard University in 1950 (now replaced by a ceramic copy; the original is in MoMA, New York) and two vast ceramic wall decorations, Wall of the Sun and Wall of the Moon (installed 1958), for the Unesco building in Paris. Another aspect of his desire to make his art widely accessible is his productivity as a printmaker (etchings and lithographs). He continued to explore new techniques into his old age, taking up stained-glass design when he was in his eighties. In spite of the worldwide fame he acquired he was a modest, retiring character, utterly devoted to his work, and in one of his rare public statements he criticized Picasso for what seemed to him a mania for publicity. The Foundation Joan Miró was opened in 1975 on the heights of Montjuic overlooking Barcelona. It is designed both as a memorial museum housing a collection of Miró's works and as a centre of artistic activity.

Miró, Joan (1893–1983). Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and designer. He first visited Paris in 1919 and from then until 1936 (when the Spanish Civil War began) his regular pattern was to spend the winter in Paris and the summer at his family's farm near Barcelona. His early work shows the influence of various modern movements—Fauvism, Cubism (he was a friend of Pablo Picasso), and Dadaism—but he is particularly associated with the Surrealists, whose first manifesto he signed in 1924. Throughout his life, whether his work was purely abstract or whether it retained figurative suggestions, Miró remained true to the basic Surrealist principle of releasing the creative forces of the unconscious mind from the control of logic and reason. However, even though André Breton wrote that he was ‘probably the most Surrealistic of us all’, Miró was never a formal member of the movement and always stood somewhat apart because of the variety, geniality, and lack of attitudinizing in his work, which shows none of the superficial devices beloved of other Surrealists. One of the works in which he first displayed an unmistakable personal vision is Harlequin's Carnival (1924–5, Albright-Knox AG, Buffalo), featuring a bizarre assembly of insect-like creatures dancing and making music—a scene inspired by ‘my hallucinations brought on by hunger’. Much of his work has the delightful quality of playfulness seen in this picture, but he was inspired to much more sombre and even savage imagery by the Spanish Civil War, during which he designed propaganda posters for the Republicans fighting against Franco.

Miró settled in Paris in 1936 because of the Civil War, but in 1940 he returned to Spain to escape the German occupation of France and thereafter lived mainly on the island of Majorca. It was from about this time that he began to achieve international recognition. For the rest of his long life he worked with great energy in a wide variety of fields. In 1944 he began making ceramics and slightly later he took up sculpture, initially small terracottas but eventually large-scale pieces for casting in bronze. He visited the USA for the first time in 1947 and did a large mural for the Terrace Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. This fulfilled his desire to communicate with a large public, and several of the major works of his later year were in a similar vein, notably a mural for Harvard University in 1950 (now replaced by a ceramic copy; the original is in MoMA, New York) and two vast ceramic wall decorations, Wall of the Sun and Wall of the Moon (installed 1958), for the Unesco Building in Paris. Another aspect of his desire to make his art widely accessible is his productivity as a printmaker (etchings and lithographs). He continued to explore new techniques into his old age, taking up stained-glass design when he was in his eighties. In spite of the worldwide fame he acquired, he was a modest, retiring character, utterly devoted to his work, and in one of his rare public statements he criticized Picasso for what seemed to him like a mania for publicity. The Foundation Joan Miró was opened in 1975 on the heights of Montjuic overlooking Barcelona. It is designed both as a memorial museum housing a collection of Miró's works and as a centre of artistic activity.

Joan Miró , 1893-1983, Spanish surrealist painter. After studying in Barcelona, Miró went to Paris in 1919. In the 1920s he came into contact with cubism and surrealism . His work has been characterized as psychic automatism, an expression of the subconscious in free form. By 1930, Miró had developed a lyrical style that remained fairly consistent. It is distinguished by the use of brilliant pure color and the playful juxtaposition of delicate lines with abstract, often amebic shapes (e.g., Dog Barking at the Moon, 1926; Philadelphia Mus. of Art). In some of his works there is a distinct undertone of nightmare and horror. After 1941, Miró lived mainly in Majorca. He painted murals for hotels in New York City and Cincinnati and for the Graduate Center at Harvard. In 1958 he completed ceramic decorations for the UNESCO buildings in Paris. Many of his canvases are in the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum.

Bibliography: See studies by J. T. Soby (1959), U. Apolonio (tr. 1969), and R. Penrose (1971).

Miró, Joan (1893–1983) Spanish painter and graphic artist. Early works reveal experimentation with fauvism, cubism, and Dada. His Catalan Landscape (1923) heralds his more mature work and a close affinity with abstract art and primitivism. In 1924 Miró became a member of the surrealism movement, producing works such as Dog barking at the moon (1926). His work is often playful, but the Spanish Civil War provoked him into creating darker, more savage images.

http://org; http://www.guggenheimcollection.org