Joan Miró

JOAN MIRÓ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983)
"Hommage à Rimbaud," 1960.
Color lithograph on Rives vellum paper, H.C. edition.
Signed in pencil in the lower right corner, inscribed and dedicated “à Madame Caminat” in the lower left corner.
Mourlot, printer. Published at the expense of an amateur.
Measurements: 49 x 37.5 cm; 87 x 76 cm (with frame).

This lithograph is part of the album *Arthur Rimbaud vu par des peintres contemporains*, one of the most unique graphic projects dedicated to the French poet, featuring original prints by Jean Arp, Georges Braque, Jean Cocteau, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Valentine Hugo, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Jacques Villon. Miró’s contribution, cataloged in Cramer’s *Les livres illustrés*, no. 79, and in Mourlot, is situated within the dialogue between modern poetry and visual art that characterized much of 20th-century avant-garde printmaking.

The composition distills Miró’s most recognizable language: seemingly spontaneous linear marks, expansive patches of color, and an open structure suspended against the white of the paper. Red, yellow, blue-green, and violet unfold in vibrant swaths of color, while the black line introduces a free, almost musical calligraphy that seems to visually translate Rimbaud’s visionary intensity.

This is an H.C. edition, signed and inscribed by the artist to Marguerite Caminat-Benhoura, a French collector associated with the circle of modern artists. The personal dedication reinforces the piece’s uniqueness within the edition and makes it a testament to private and affectionate circulation within Miró’s artistic circle.

Joan Miró is one of the key figures in 20th-century art. Associated with Surrealism since the 1920s, he developed his own artistic language based on signs, constellations, biomorphic figures, and an intense chromatic freedom. His work spans painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, and monumental projects.

He received numerous international awards, including the Grand Prize for Printmaking at the Venice Biennale in 1954 and the Guggenheim Award in 1958. His work is represented in institutions such as the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró in Mallorca, the Museo Reina Sofía, MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate in London, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, among many others.