17 - JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983).

JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983). “La gardien du phare,” 1981. Color aquatint, drypoint, and carborundum print on Rivers paper, print no. 17/60. Signed with a stamp and numbered in pencil. With a certificate from the Miró Estate on the reverse. Measurements: 68 x 43 cm (print); 95 x 70 cm (paper); 104.5 x 78.5 cm (frame). Created during Joan Miró’s final period, “La gardien du pare” condenses with extraordinary intensity some of the most characteristic elements of his creative universe. A monumental black form, with organic and biomorphic contours, dominates the composition against the luminous background of the paper, while vibrant touches of blue, red, yellow, and green—essential colors in the artist’s palette—introduce rhythm and visual tension. The boldness of the black and the gestural freedom of its application interact with small signs and strokes suspended in space, giving rise to an image of great expressive power and marked spontaneity. Here, Miró exploits the material possibilities of carborundum, a technique particularly significant in his mature graphic work, which allowed him to achieve deep blacks, dense surfaces, and textures akin to those of painting. Created in 1981, just two years before his death, the work demonstrates the extraordinary creative freedom the artist achieved in his final years, when he reduced his figurative universe to essential signs of immense visual power. Joan Miró trained in Barcelona and held his first solo exhibition in 1918 at the Dalmau Galleries. In 1920, he moved to Paris and met Picasso, Raynal, Max Jacob, Tzara, and the Dadaists. There, under the influence of Surrealist poets and painters, his style matured; he sought to translate Surrealist poetry into the visual realm, drawing on memory, fantasy, and the irrational. His third exhibition in Paris, in 1928, marked his first major success: the Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired two of his works. He returned to Spain in 1941, and that same year the museum dedicated a retrospective to him, which sealed his definitive international recognition. Throughout his life, he received numerous awards, including the Grand Prizes at the Venice Biennale and from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Carnegie Prize for Painting, the Gold Medals from the Government of Catalonia and the Fine Arts Academy, and he was awarded honorary doctorates by Harvard University and the University of Barcelona. Today, his works can be seen in the world’s most prominent museums, such as MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Reina Sofía.