Joan Miró

JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 - Palma de Mallorca, 1983).
"The sea foam on the ropes". Series "Characters of the sea", 1981.
Etching, aquatint and carborundum on BFK Rives paper, copy 19/60.
With certificate of authenticity on the back.
Signed with stamp and numbered in pencil.
Sealed by Sucesión Miró, and signed by Emilio Fernández Miró, grandson of the artist.
Published by order of the Miró Estate in 1990.
The work belongs to the last graphic series of the artist.
Work catalogued in: "Miró engraver. Jacques Dupin", vol.IV, pg 211, figure 1286.
Measurements: 69,5 x 43,5 cm.(print); 96 x 75 cm.(paper); 116 x 95 cm.(frame).

This work belongs to Joan Miró's last graphic stage and concentrates many of the essential features of his mature language, especially in the series "Personages of the sea".

The work conveys a sense of spontaneity, primitive energy and visual poetry, as if the character emerged directly from the sea foam, caught in an instant of movement and absolute freedom. The figure, with a bent leg and curved arms that suggest movement, seems to float or advance on an unstable surface, evoking the swaying of the sea.

The use of black is forceful and structural: it delimits the figure's body and acts as a compositional axis. This black, applied with carborundum, provides a rough texture and intense material, contrasting with the white background, which functions as an open and silent space.

The primary and secondary colors appear as symbolic accents: the upper yellow can be interpreted as light, sun or cosmic energy; the central red, in the form of a large open mouth, introduces an expressive and vital, almost playful dimension; the green and blue, more contained, refer directly to the marine universe, reinforcing the idea of a being emerging from the water. Small dots and graphic gestures bring rhythm and an almost musical character to the scene.

The character is poetically defined: he is an imaginary being, between the human and the elemental, typical of Miró's imaginary, where the sea is not a literal landscape, but a symbolic territory of freedom, play and creation.

Etching and aquatint allow a richness of lines and glazes, while carborundum intensifies the physical presence of the line, reinforcing the almost sculptural character of the figure. This technical combination is characteristic of Miró's later engravings, where the gesture becomes freer, more essential and experimental. It is, therefore, a piece fully representative of the final Miró, where formal synthesis, material strength and symbolism come together in a powerful and deeply lyrical image.

Joan Miró was trained in Barcelona and made his debut in the Dalmau Galleries. In 1920 he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with Picasso and the Dadaist and Surrealist circles, a decisive context for the consolidation of his own language based on poetry, fantasy and the irrational. His international recognition came soon: in 1928 the MoMA in New York acquired his works and in 1941 dedicated a great retrospective to him, confirming his relevance in modern art.

Throughout his career he received numerous awards and distinctions and was named Doctor Honoris Causa by universities such as Harvard and Barcelona. Considered a key figure of surrealism and 20th century art, his work is part of the collections of major museums around the world, including the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, the MoMA, the Reina Sofía Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the National Gallery in Washington and the MNAM in Paris.