Joan Miro Art - Information

Original Joan Miro Lithographs, Etchings & Aquatints

Joan Miro was born April 20, 1893 in Barcelona, Spain. Miro is one of the great pioneers of modern art. His ancestors were peasants and artisans, and his father was a goldsmith. Joan Miro began drawing at a young age as a way to escape the strictures of family life. His choice of motifs - tufts of grass, insects, tiny birds - revealed an early affinity for the organic, a love, as one commentator says, of "the little things" of this world. After finishing his military service Miro worked in an office, and attended crafts courses in his spare time. "I was a paragon of awkwardness," he confessed. In painting, too, judged by academic standards, Miro was entirely unsuccessful.

Joan Miro (1893-1983) ranks among the most important artists of the 20th century. An inventive and imaginative painter, sculptor, ceramicist and printmaker, Miro changed forever the course of modern art. Although Miro derived his own visual vocabulary from nature, Miro's artworks are frequently viewed as interesting abstract compositions, an effect that is enhanced by his vivid palette. More than any of his contemporaries, Miro’s iconography forms a bridge between figurative and abstract imagery, and had a profound influence on succeeding generations of artists. Joan Miro’s sparsely ordered lyrical canvases of the 1920’s and 30’s catapulted him to the fore of the Surrealist movement. A classification that persists yet he and his artwork stand apart as unique. However, the Surrealist precept of automatism (allowing the subconscious to dictate forms) helped to fuel Miro's vivid imagination throughout his career, leading him to spawn sensuous biomorphic imagery with universal appeal. Joan Miro did identify strongly with the Surrealist poets, finding in their verse the inspiration he sought for his own efforts. Their reward was his friendship and collaboration on many artists’ books, to which he would contribute the illustrations for their poetry.

In the 1960’s Joan Miro, while never ceasing to paint, devoted more and more of his time to printmaking, such as lithographs, etchings & Aquatints as well as ceramics, murals and sculpture. Miro was attracted to printmaking and sculpture as a respite from the solitary labors of painting and as an opportunity for teamwork together with master printers and artisans who were extremely knowledgeable in their fields. From these varied experiences Miro's own creative repertoire was enhanced and he found inspiration for all of his related works. For example, it is easy to understand how strongly calligraphic FEMME DANS LA NUIT (Woman in the Night), a 1967-71 wax crayon and watercolor featured in our exhibition, could easily have been conceived as a study for a lithograph in light of the mixed-media and scale employed. Similarly, the lushly imbued, UNTITLED gouache and watercolor of 1969-70 viewed herein could easily be related to a planned oil on canvas or aquatint etching. Miro recognized an advantage in printmaking, "…a painting is a unique example for a single collector. But if I pull seventy-five examples, I increase by seventy-five times the number of people who can own a work of mine. I increase the reach of my message seventy-five times." Joan Miro died on December 25,1983,in Spain.

If you are interested in buying or selling any Joan Miro Artwork, such as his lithographs, etchings & aquatints please click on Joan Miro Artwork located in the Modern Prints section of the web site and feel free to email or call us with any questions.

Joan Miro Lithograph

"Ubu Roi" - Edition of 205 copies were printed on Arches Vellum, of which 180 were unsigned, 25 copies are H.C., signed and numbered. 75 further portfolios were also printed, containing a suite with large margins, signed and numbered, one proof of the black plate numbered and monogrammed and one proof of the color plates, numbered. We have a suite from the edition of 180.

Joan Miro Etching

Joan Miro original etching and aquatint hand signed from 1975. This original etching & aquatint is titled "Quatre Colors Aparien el Mon" and is quite large, measuring 35" x 25" unframed. A small edition of 50 were published by Gili.