Joan Miró

By: Rebecca L. Bloem

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Joan Miró

• A Little Bit of History• Video: A Brief Overvie

w• Early Career • Portraits• Art Movement

– Surrealism– Influences

• Later in His Career• About the Author• Resources

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Joan Miró: A Little Bit of History

Joan Miró was born in the country side of Montroig Spain (near Barcelona) on April 20, 1893. His father and mother who by trade were a blacksmith and a watchmaker pushed their son to pursue a career as a businessman. For three years Miró attended a local business college but became seriously ill, and when he returned home to recuperate his plans changed. It was at his parent’s home that Miró’s style and “signature” of painting originated and continued to develop in the years to follow.

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Joan Miró Early Career• Throughout Miró’s career he went through numerous stages

in which he experimented with and changed his style of painting. Early in his career many of his paintings were influenced by the country landscape that surrounded him at his parent’s home.

• It was in his early years when he spent time studying the landscape and nature including animals and insects and then continued to integrate these elements into his paintings.

• In his work prior to 1920, it can be seen through the use of bright colors that his paintings echo elements from the Fauve movement and the broken forms of the Cubist movement as well as the distinctive flat two-dimensional elements from his cultural heritage of Catalan folk art.Click on

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“House with the Palm Tree” 1918

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“Still Life (Rabbit on the Table)” 1920

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Joan Miró: Portraits From 1917 to 1919 he produced numerous portraits such as The Portrait of E.C. Ricart and the Portrait of V. Numiola in 1917, the Portrait of Hiberto Casany in 1918, as well as two self portraits during this time. In Miró’s 1917 Self Portrait, the style of painting is focused around the use of color such as the bold green and yellow background as well as brushwork in the suit coat. Two years later Miró produced another Self Portrait one in which his style underwent a transformation. In this second portrait, the colors are much more muted and the line quality has drastically changed becoming more defined in comparison to the more loose brush stokes from the portrait

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Self Portrait 1919

Self Portrait 1917

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“Self Portrait” 1917

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Primary focus was on the

use of color such as

the bold green and

yellow background as well as

brushwork in the suit coat.

“Self Portrait” 1919

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Two years later Miró’s style underwent a

transformation. In this second portrait, the colors are much more muted and the line quality has drastically changed becoming more defined in comparison to the more loose brush stokes from the portrait two years prior.

Joan Miró: Which Art Movement Does He Go with Anyway?

Surrealism is the art movement that most would associate Miró’s work with although Miró made a point of never declaring membership to it. He wanted to have the creative freedom that allowed him to create whatever he wanted and declaring membership towards one group would restrict the style of painting that he wanted to make. One of the distinctive themes that emerged throughout Miró’s work is the techniques or use of large amounts of color in large areas. There are five main colors that Miró continuously used in many of his paintings which included red, blue, green, yellow, and black.

What is Surrealism?Automatic Painting

Who were Miró’s Influences?

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Surrealism• “Surrealism is a cultural movement and artistic style that

was founded in 1924 by André Breton. Surrealism style uses visual imagery from the subconscious mind to create art without the intention of logical comprehensibility.” (www.surrealism.org)

• Miró was also the first to use the technique of “automatic painting” one of the most important techniques of the Surrealist movement. Automatic painting can be described as allowing the hand to move across a canvas without the involvement of the conscious mind. It was a way for Miró to undo the traditional techniques that were most commonly used in painting.

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Click on the images to view an enlarged image

“Head of a Woman” 1938

“The Potato” 1928

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“Birth of the World” 1925

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Miró implements this technique by

allowing the force of gravity

to carry the paint. Many

times Miró would start a painting

using this automatic

painting technique and

would later return to the

painting and add more to it in a

some what more conventional

way.

Influences

• In 1920 he moved to Paris the emerging art capitol of the world where he became friends with numerous artists such as Pablo Picasso. It was from the French painter Andre Masson, Picasso, and French writer Andre Breton that gave Miró the greatest influence. In Paris, Miró’s painting style once again began to evolve and mature. It was after he moved to Paris and became friends with Andre Masson, his studio neighbor, that his style truly began to mature and transform into a more Surrealist style.

• The term “automatic painting”, a technique often used by Miró, was coined by his friend Andre Breton the French writer who wrote in his first of three Surrealist Manifestos in 1924 the goals and purpose of the Surrealist movement.

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Late in Miró’s CareerMuch later in Miró’s career his work included ceramic sculptures, prints and lithographs, multi-media paintings/collages, as well as textiles. Made in 1974, one of Miró’s most well known tapestries was once displayed in the World Trade Center in New York City entitled World Trade Center Tapestry but was destroyed in 2001 during the terrorist attacks on the two towers. There is also one of his ceramic sculptures at the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) building in Paris entitled The Wall of the Moon and The Wall of the Sun.

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World Trade Center Tapestry, 1974

Wall of the Moon, 1958 Wall of the Sun, 1958

“World Trade Center Tapestry” 1974

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“Wall of the Moon” 1958

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“Wall of the Sun” 1958

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About the AuthorRebecca L. Bloem

I have lived in the Grand Rapids area my entire life and love living in Michigan. Currently, I am a student at Grand Valley State University and I am majoring in Art Education with an emphasis in ceramics. When I graduate from Grand Valley I hope to teach high school in the west Michigan area.

Send me an Email

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ResourcesInformation excerps taken from a research paper written by the Author April 6, 2009.

Sources from that paper are as follows:

• Anfam, David. “New York Joan Miró.” The Burlington Magazine Vol. 136, No. 1090 (Jan., 1994), pp. 48-50.

• Corredor-Matheos, José. "Miró, Joan." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T058573>.

• Hopkins, Justine. "Miró, Joan." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t118/e1759>.

• “Joan Miró.” E-Fine Art. <http://www.e-fineart.com/biography/miro_bio.html>.• Keeley, Graham. “On the Trail of a Genius”. The Times Online. 14 March 2009.• <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/specials/artistic_spain/article5904174.ece>.• "Surrealism," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia. 2008.

<http://encarta.msn.com>. • “Works by Joan Miró: Paintings.” The Joan Miró Foundation. 2008.

<http://www.fundaciomiro-bcn.org/colecciojm_pintures.php?idioma=2#>.

Resources cont.Images:• Photograph of Joan Miro• http://www.trentonscott.com/image/joan_miro.jpg• The House with the Palm Tree 1918

http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/subscriber/popup_fig/img/grove/art/F018203• The Potato 1928

http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/subscriber/popup_fig/img/grove/art/F019616• Head of a Woman 1938

http://0-camio.oclc.org.elibrary.mel.org.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/u?/MAV,280• Video

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=60148&title=Joan_Miro• The Table (Still Life with Rabbit) 1920

http://historyday.crf-usa.org/2806/miro_art/table_withrabbit.jpg• Self Portrait 1917

http://www.modern-art-reproductions.com/cartdata/uploads/1019803547_large-image_miroselfplg.jpg• Self Portrait 1919

http://www.gallerywalk.org/JM_self.jpg• World Trade Center Tapestry 1974

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_World_Trade_Center_Tapestry.jpg• Wall of the Moon 1958

http://www.interfolk.dk/Miro,%20The%20wall%20of%20the%20moon,%201958.JPG-for-web-large.jpg• Wall of the Sun 1958:

– Full Imagehttp://fundaciomiro-bcn.org/imgestat/secJM_mur_del_sol.jpg

– Close Uphttp://www.unesco.org/visit/uk/notices/miro1.htm

• Birth of the World 1925http://www.moma.org/images/collection/FullSizes/00293089.jpg

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