Joan Miró

JOAN MIRÓ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983).
“Saint Lazarus and His Friends,” 1975.
Color lithograph on Arches paper.
Signed and numbered in pencil, print no. 42/75.
Printed by Arte Adrien Maeght, Paris.
Published by the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
Bibliography: Fernand Mourlot, Joan Miró. Lithographe, vol. V, no. 1081.
Measurements: 51.4 x 39.4 cm.

Created in 1975, this lithograph dates from the height of Joan Miró’s artistic maturity and was produced for the exhibition *San Lazzaro et ses amis*, held at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris from November 1975 to January 1976. The exhibition paid tribute to Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, founder of the influential magazine *XXe Siècle* and a key figure in promoting the avant-garde movements and the graphic work of numerous contemporary artists. This print is part of an edition of 75 signed and numbered copies, produced before the addition of the text from the exhibition poster.

The composition showcases Miró’s characteristic visual universe, articulated through large black masses, circular graphic elements, and biomorphic forms that seem to float in an undefined space. The accents of blue, green, ochre, and pink introduce a vibrant chromatic counterpoint, while the energetic strokes and intersecting lines create a tension between spontaneity and compositional balance. The freedom of gesture, the intensity of the black, and the presence of symbols resembling an imaginary script reflect the formal refinement achieved by the artist during his later period, when his artistic language acquired an extraordinary capacity for synthesis.

Joan Miró was one of the key figures of the 20th-century avant-garde. Associated with Surrealism since his time in Paris during the 1920s, he developed a personal artistic language based on imaginative freedom, the sign, and color. His body of work, which encompasses painting, sculpture, ceramics, and graphic art, gained widespread international recognition. In 1954, he received the Grand Prize for Printmaking at the Venice Biennale, an acknowledgment of a particularly significant aspect of his career. His work is part of prestigious collections such as the MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona.