Antoni Tàpies and Joan Brossa

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923–2012) and JOAN BROSSA (Barcelona, 1919–1998).
“Nocturn matinal,” 1970.
Artist’s book with texts by Joan Brossa, eight original lithographs, and an etching by Antoni Tàpies.
All prints signed in pencil with Tàpies’s monogram.
“Single copy” marked in pencil “B.A.T. (Bon à tirer).”
Published by Edicions Polígrafa, S.A., Barcelona, 1970.
Original cover and slipcase featuring compositions by Antoni Tàpies.
Cataloged in: GALFETTI, Mariuccia, Tàpies. Das graphische Werk. L’œuvre gravé 1947–1972, Erker-Verlag, St. Gallen, 1975, cat. 237–245, pp. 143–152.
It has small spots of oxidation and slight foxing on some sheets. The slipcase shows slight signs of wear.
Measurements: 47 x 34 cm (slipcase).

The handwritten notation “Single copy B.A.T. (Bon à tirer)” makes this copy particularly noteworthy within the edition of *Nocturn matinal*. The *bon à tirer* refers to the proof approved as the reference for the print run, thus distinguishing it from the ordinarily numbered copies. The colophon documents an edition consisting of copies A–Z, a run numbered 1–100, XV out of print, and another 1,000 copies numbered 101–1,100.

Published by La Polígrafa in 1970, *Nocturn matinal* is one of the most significant artist’s books to emerge from the collaboration between Tàpies and Brossa. Text and image establish a direct dialogue here: Brossa’s poetry takes on a visual dimension, while Tàpies’s signs and graphic elements approach the realm of writing. The eight lithographs and the etching were cataloged by Mariuccia Galfetti under numbers 237–245, and the book was presented in 1970 at the Sala Gaspar in Barcelona.

Connected through the Dau al Set circle, Antoni Tàpies and Joan Brossa developed a fruitful collaboration on artist’s books such as *El pa a la barca*, *Novel·la*, *Frègoli*, and *Nocturn matinal*. Tàpies established himself as one of the key figures of European Informalism, with works in institutions such as MoMA, the Tate, and the Reina Sofía Museum; Brossa was a pivotal figure in Catalan experimental and visual poetry. In this edition, the affinity between the two reaches one of its most complete expressions, reinforced in this case by the copy’s unique B.A.T. status.