Artist Profile: Joan Miró

Surrealism

Although Miró is most closely associated with this movement, it was not a classification he used to describe his work. Additionally, his style progressed quickly beyond Surrealism during the 1920's, and became ever more abstract with the passing decades.

April 20, 1893, Barcelona, Spain

Miró, who tried briefly to please his parents and become a bookkeeper, used being the proverbial starving artist to his advantage. (He claimed that hunger-inspired dreams were the source of much of his subject matter.) Never content to settle for a recognized style, he continually experimented with both technique and medium, taking up sculpture in the 1950's. He is best known for his prolific output of paintings (some 2,000, in all), many of which contain playful, colorful organic shapes.

• The Tilled Field (1923-24)

• The Carnival of Harlequin (1924-25)

• Dog Barking at the Moon (1926)

• Still Life with Old Shoe (1937)

• The Gold of the Azure ("L'oro Dell'azzurro"; 1967)

December 25, 1983, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

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• Dupin, Jacques. Miró. Flammarion; 2004.

• Malet, Rosa Maria. Joan Miró. Rizzoli International Publications; 2003.

• Miró, Joan. Miró Lithographs. Dover Publications; 1983.

• Soby, James. Joan Miró (The Museum of Modern Art Publications in Reprint). Arno Press; 1980.

• Turner, Elizabeth; et al. Calder / Miró. Philip Wilson Publishers; 2004.

See more resources on Joan Miró by following the links at right

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