Joan Miró

JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 - Palma de Mallorca, 1983).
Series "Enrajolats".1979.
Etching with aquatint on special Arches paper, copy 26/30.
Signed and numbered by hand.
Edited by the Maeght Gallery of Barcelona.
The series "Enrajolats" consists of 7 etchings with aquatint in a run of 55 copies, numbered from 1 to 30 and from H.C.I to H.C.XV.
With label of the Altair Gallery of Mallorca on the back.
Measurements: 56 x 75 cm (paper); 81 x 100 cm (frame).

The series "Enrajolats" belongs to the final stage of Joan Miró's career, when the artist developed a graphic language of great formal freedom. In this print, he deploys a dynamic structure of black lines that delimit a set of geometric and organic shapes, evoking a figure that unfolds in space with the spontaneity characteristic of his imaginary. The areas of color are distributed in fragmented planes that recall tiles, alluding directly to the title of the series ("alicatados" or "tiles" in Catalan).

The combination of etching and aquatint allows Miró to obtain a great richness of nuances and textures, alternating intensely colored surfaces with veiled and splashed areas that add depth and vibration to the image. On this chromatic base, the nervous and gestural black line acts as a graphic structure that organizes the whole and reinforces the rhythmic character of the composition.

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 surrealist circle, a decisive context for the consolidation of his own language based on poetry 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 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.