From Publishers Weekly
Andre Breton, the leading literary force of Surrealism, accused Miro of giving "himself up utterly to painting," and not (to the French writer's dismay) to theory. In connection with an exhibition of the Catalan painter's whimsical, cartoon-like collages, drawings and paintings, editors von Wiese and Martin have compiled a catalog that quite handily supports Breton's charge. Long considered a principal Surrealist artist, Miro certainly did focus on the playful, erotic and sinister unconscious-so his instantly recognizable, spindly-limbed amoebas attest. As one essay titled "Miro's Strategies" notes, the Barcelona-born artist-no stranger to ideology, having navigated strains of Futurism, Dadaism, and Catalan nationalism-managed to remain a reticent ascetic in the flamboyant Paris of the 1920s. Joaquim Gomis's clean, direct photographs show a man with neatly cuffed pants and a dapper tie working in a dusty foundry. But it is the volume's sumptuous reproductions that best bear out Breton's accusation that the artist simply wasn't a theoretician for the movement. More than an automatic doodler, Miro wielded consummate skill with line, composition and palette, producing richly atmospheric works-whether starkly empty canvases or frenetically cramped tableaus. In all cases, his attention to organic forms on deep background color leaves a profound formal legacy. Before he was a theoretician or even a Surrealist, Miro was a painter-a fortuitous failing. 30 b&w photos, 261 b&w and color reproductions.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Nature, the cosmos, and humanity were all subjects which Juan Miró (1893-1983) pursued in a tremendous array of styles and in nearly every known medium. This beautiful new book communicates the scope and quality of his art, including the most important works over his life.
Tracing Miró’s entire career, this pictorial journey begins in the 1920s with his introduction to surrealism, cubism, and dadaism, and with the flowering of his friendships with Picasso, Braque and other influential artists and poets. It moves on to his creation of a universal iconographic language, a style which reached maturity in the 1940s, and which forever distinguished Miró from his contemporaries. This book includes nearly one hundred of his greatest works, displaying the subconscious expression of this lyrical painter, whose brilliant use of color, line, and shape resulted in unique and dazzling compositions. Fascinating photographs depict the artist at various stages of his life while perceptive essays about his work round out this exciting vision of the world as seen through Miro’s eyes.
