Joan Miró

JOAN MIRÓ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983).
“La veuve du corsaire,” from the “People of the Sea” series, 1981.
Color aquatint and carborundum on Rivas paper. Edition 26/60.
With certificate of authenticity on the reverse.
Signed with a stamp and numbered in pencil.
Stamped by the Miró Estate and signed by Emilio Fernández Miró, the artist’s grandson.
Printed by Morsang.
Published by Daniel Lelong, Paris, 1990.
Reference: Dupin, no. 1277.
Measurements: 69 × 43.5 cm (print); 104.5 × 78.5 × 4 cm (frame).

In *La veuve du corsaire*, Miró transforms the maritime imagery into an almost emblematic presence, somewhere between a figure, a sign, and a banner. The title—“The Corsair’s Widow”—introduces a narrative suggestion that is not resolved literally, but rather through an image charged with tension: a large black form rises and curves like a veiled silhouette, a sail, a body, or a mask, imposing a severe presence against the chromatic flashes.

The use of carborundum plays an essential role here: it not only adds texture but also an almost sculptural materiality to the black line, which seems deposited on the paper like a physical imprint. Set against the lightness of the gray and white backgrounds, this dark mass structures the reading of the work and transforms it into a powerful image, where the graphic elements function as expanded painting.

Joan Miró trained in Barcelona, where he held his first solo exhibition in 1918 at the Dalmau Galleries. In 1920 he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with the Surrealist circle and developed his own language based on free association, memory, and the irrational. International recognition came quickly: in 1928, the MoMA in New York acquired works by him, and in 1941 it dedicated a major retrospective to him.

Throughout his career, he received major honors, including awards at the Venice Biennale and from the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as the Gold Medals for Fine Arts and from the Government of Catalonia. His work is now held in leading institutions such as the Joan Miró Foundation (Barcelona), MoMA (New York), the Reina Sofía Museum (Madrid), the National Gallery of Art (Washington), and the Centre Pompidou (Paris).