Lot 47

Joan Miró Lithographs, Maeght, Paris, 1975-1992, no. 1713

One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Spaniard Joan Miró displayed much promise as a young painter. Exhibiting in Barcelona between 1915 and 1919, he experimented with Fauvism and Cubism, and looked to the work of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne like other artists. However, upon his arrival in Paris in the early 1920s Miró rejected conventional painting methods and rapidly developed his own unique approach to artmaking stimulated by his dreams and visions from his unconscious mind. The signature style he pioneered is marked by fantastical forms, bold lines and vibrant colours, his canvases a playground for his wandering mind.

According to André Breton, principal theorist of the Surrealist movement, Miró's arrival upon the Parisian art scene was "an important stage in the development of surrealist art." His ability to give his unconscious mind free rein led Breton to declare Miró "the most Surrealist of us all", though Miró did not agree with all the precepts of the movement or the expectation that the school had of painting. Throughout the rest of his long artistic career he strove to paint as though he were a child equipped with the intelligence of an adult or in other words to liberate his unconscious mind and capture his dreams.

Miró was an experimental artist, always seeking new methods of creation with a range of different media. His love of printmaking in part stemmed from a love of collaboration. Miró openly rejected the image of the solitary artist and embraced opportunities to work with other creatives and artisans, oftentimes transforming his prints into posters and book collections. Lot 50, 'Miró a l'encre: Feminique' was created to accompany first editions of the book, 'Miró à l'encre' (Miró in Ink), published in collaboration with French artist, author and critic Yvon Taillandier. Similarly, Lot 49, the design for a poster, was produced to promote a show of his work at Galerie Gérald Cramer in 1969. Miró saw printmaking as a democratic medium; a way in which he could "increase the reach of [his] message," and share his beautiful and mysterious universe with as many people as possible.

The last twenty years of Miró's life were spent on the island of Mallorca, revisiting and refining his style with a free, assured hand. We have the pleasure of offering for sale a charming group of such late works, which beautifully illustrate Miró's active mind, naive style and love of dramatic, strong lines, executed with confidence and playfulness.

Marcella Fox | Sydney Manager

© Successió Miró/ADAGP. Copyright Agency, 2021