MIRO JOAN

Joan Miro (1893-1983) is one of the most significant Spanish painters ofthe 20th century. His early work clearly shows the influence of Fauvismand Cubism. The Catalan landscape also shapes the themes and treatment ofthese initial works. In his travels, Miro encountered the intellectualavant-garde of his time. His friends included Francis Picabia, TristanTzara, Andr Masson, Jean Arp and Pablo Picasso. From the mid-twentiesonward, Miro strove to leave direct objective references behind anddeveloped the pictograms that typify his style. The pictures of thisperiod, which include perhaps the most beautiful and significant ones ofhis whole oeuvre, dispense with spatiality and an unambiguous reference toobjects. From now on, the surfaces are defined by numerals, writing,abstract emblems, and playful figures and creatures. Nineteen-forty-foursaw the beginning of his extensive graphic oeuvre, ceramics, monumentalmural works, and sculptures. In these works, too, the Catalan artistsought the solid foundation of a figurative, symbolic art with orientationas regards content: faces, stars, moons, rudimentary animal forms, letters.Joan Miro developed in several stages his characteristic flowingcalligraphic style and his world of forms resembling shorthand symbols.