Joan Miró

JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983).
“Les essències de la terra,” 1968.
A bibliophile’s book with 14 lithographs, plus a lithographed cover, on Guarro paper.
Copy 584/1120.
Numbered and signed in pencil by Joan Miró in the colophon.
Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona. Lithographs printed by Mourlot, Paris.
With original binding and slipcase.
The slipcase shows slight wear and soiling.
Measurements: 53 x 40 x 4 cm (slipcase).

Published in 1968, at the height of Miró’s artistic maturity and international recognition, *Les essències de la terra* combines his graphic exploration with themes closely tied to Catalan culture. Conceived in collaboration with the writer Joan Perucho, it brings together contemporary and classical texts from Catalan literature, accompanied by lithographs that serve as an autonomous visual counterpoint rather than mere illustrations.

Here, Miró displays his characteristic language of black symbols, organic forms, and chromatic accents, alternating between full-page and double-page compositions that reinforce the book’s conception as a unified work. The edition was produced by Polígrafa, one of the key publishers in the dissemination of his graphic work, and printed by Mourlot, a print shop closely associated with some of the great artists of the 20th century.

Joan Miró was one of the leading figures of the 20th-century avant-garde and accorded graphic art and the illustrated book a central place in his body of work. In 1941, the Museum of Modern Art in New York dedicated its first major retrospective to him; in 1958, he received the Guggenheim International Award for the murals he created for UNESCO in Paris; and in 1962, the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris organized a comprehensive retrospective of his work. His works are held in institutions such as MoMA in New York, the Tate in London, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, as well as the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, an institution created at the artist’s own initiative to preserve and promote his legacy.