Joan Miró
| Full Name: | Joan Miró i Ferrà. |
|---|---|
| Birth: | 1893, Barcelona, Spain. |
| Death: | 1983, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. |
| Style: | Surrealism | Cubism | Fauvism. |
Joan Miró i Ferrà (1893–1983), painter, sculptor, and printmaker born in Barcelona, is regarded as one of the great innovators of 20th-century art and a key figure in defining European Surrealism. His work, deeply rooted in Catalan identity while open to international avant-gardes, marked a turning point between figuration and abstraction. Trained at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de La Llotja and the Academia Gali, Miró evolved from early Post-Impressionism toward a distinctive visual language dominated by symbols, signs, and structures that transcended conventional representation of reality.
Miró’s works are considered foundational to the European Surrealist movement. In his paintings, organic forms float over flat backgrounds, creating a universe of symbols where the real and the imaginary merge. Miró reinterpreted primitive art, cave drawings, and constellations as a personal system of visual writing. In works like “The Farm” (1921–1922) and “Harlequin’s Carnival” (1924–1925), he combined the precision of Catalan draftsmanship with the dreamlike spontaneity of the avant-garde, achieving a balance between structure and fantasy that continues to fascinate for its modernity.
From a technical standpoint, Miró developed a process of formal refinement that anticipated many practices of contemporary art. His exploration of automatism and material painting led to a progressive simplification of form, giving the line expressive autonomy. He used intense pigments — especially cobalt blues, cadmium reds, and deep blacks — to create visual tension. From the 1940s onward, he experimented with lithography, ceramics, and sculpture.
In his later years, Miró consolidated a mature visual language defined by extreme synthesis and a search for the essential. His large-scale works and murals — such as those at UNESCO in Paris and the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid — demonstrate his mastery of compositional rhythm and his ability to integrate art and architecture. Critics regard him as a key figure in the evolution of modern painting for his contributions to the development of pictorial signs and the autonomy of color. His influence is evident in later movements such as Abstract Expressionism and Conceptual Art, where his technical and theoretical legacy continues to be studied and appreciated.
Miró Paintings
1. Blue II
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | Bleu II |
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Support: | Canvas |
| Year: | 1961 |
| Located: | Centro Pompidou, París |
"Azul II" (1961) is part of the emblematic triptych titled "Blue Triptych", created by Joan Miró during a period of full artistic maturity. Executed in oil on canvas, the work stands out for the technical precision with which the artist manipulates color and space. The deep ultramarine blue background, applied in translucent layers, functions as a spatial field in which each element carries a precise visual weight. Across it, a sequence of black dots of varying sizes and a single vertical red line form a rigorously balanced composition, where the economy of means results in exceptional expressive strength.
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2. The Gold of the Azure
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | L'Or de l'azur |
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Medium | Acrylic |
| Support: | Canvas |
| Year: | 1967 |
| Located: | Fundación Joan Miró, Barcelona |
Work by Joan Miró, also known by its Italian title L'oro dell Azzurro. A painting of strong colors typical of the artist, highlighting the colors yellow and blue, the composition is characteristic of the artist's pictorial aesthetics.
3. The Harlequin's Carnival
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | Le Carnaval d'Arlequin |
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Medium | Oil |
| Support: | Canvas |
| Year: | 1925 |
| Located: | Museo Albright-Knox, USA |
Painting The Harlequin's Carnival, artistic replica, originally painted by Joan Miró.
4. Ladders Cross the Blue Sky in a Wheel of Fire
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | Echelles en Roue de Feu Traversant |
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Medium | Acrylic |
| Support: | Canvas |
| Year: | 1953 |
5. The Smile of the Flamboyant Wings
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | El somriure de les ales flamejants |
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Medium | Acrylic |
| Support: | Canvas |
| Year: | 1953 |
| Located: | Fundación Miró, Barcelona |
The painting "The Smile of the Flamboyant Wings" by Miró was created in 1953. In the painting, one can distinguish Miró's most recognizable elements and figures. Such as black lines, large color circles, and curious round shapes and lines of childlike simplicity.
The title of the work helps the observer to understand the painter's sentiment when composing this painting; elements like the smile and the wings of fire can only be distinguished from a simple mindset, which Miró made prolific use of.
6. Figures and Dog in front of the Sun
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Medium | Tempera painting |
| Support: | Canvas |
| Year: | 1949 |
| Located: | Museo de Arte de Basilea, Suiza |
Figurative painting of an animal in front of the sun by Joan Miró, a surrealist work by the Catalan artist.
7. The Rooster
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | Le coq |
| Type: | Painting |
| Style: | Surrealism |
| Medium | Watercolor and Pencil |
| Support: | Paper |
| Year: | 1949 |
Oil on canvas painted by Joan Miró, hand-painted reproduction of the original work.
Title in French: Le Coq.
8. Woman, Bird and Star (Homage to Pablo Picasso)
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
Cubist painting by Joan Miró. The composition was made as a tribute to Pablo Picasso.
9. The Singing Fish
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
Composition of abstract shapes depicting a singing fish. Painted by Joan Miró.
Title in Italian: Il pesce cantante.
10. Melancholic Singer
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
Work of figurative style, shapes of vivid colors on a raw background, painting by Joan Miró.
11. Women and Birds at Sunrise
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
The painting "Women and Birds at Sunrise" was painted by Miró in 1946. Although Miró's works are usually abstract, in this particular one, it is relatively easy to identify the human figures present.
This pastel-colored painting is a clear example of the artist's rebellion against traditional artistic figures and compositions. The soft colors and decisive lines give this painting a unique beauty, worthy of Miró's genius.
12. The Birth of Day (1968)
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
The Birth of Day (1968) by Joan Miró, abstract combination of primary colors, green and black.
13. Abstract
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
Abstract painting in which the unique style of artist Joan Miró is fully appreciated.
14. Tapestry Design
| Author: | Joan Miró |
|---|---|
| Style: | Surrealism |
Painting titled Tapestry Design by Joan Miró, features a blue background and white and red figures, a style often used by the artist in other works.
See it in the store under the Miró oil paintings section.
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