Miró's work is so vast that I am presenting it in several articles. Here I propose, chronologically, my favourites among his creations between 1950 and 1970.
You can see the question in Joan Miró's eyes in this photo by Michel Sima, taken in 1950. 1952
"Le disque rouge chasse Alouette", 1953. The poetry that Miró gave to his works bears witness to his friendship with Jacques Prévert. This is really the world I love. 1956
Joan Miró photographed by Brassaï in his studio in 1955. 1956
Stencil from 1956 and adorned the "XXe Siècle" magazine published in Paris by Gualtieri di San Lazzaro.
"Plat enfant noir", ceramic 1956.
1956
Frankly, one is always surprised with Joan Miró and this woodcut, "A toutes Epreuve" from 1958.
"La pluie matinale au clair de Lune", 1958.
"A toute épreuve", engravings by Joan Miró, on a text by Paul Eluard, 1958. 1963
All techniques attracted Miró. He was a genius in engraving, but also a tireless creator of ceramics, with his friend Pepito Artigas. Cover plate for DU magazine, 1963. 1965
"Cercle rouge, étoile"
"Le Prophète, la Nuit"
1966
1967
Miró was for me like my favourite "uncle". Always attentive and kind. I never let go of him! I am 7 years old in this photo and we are at the Maeght Foundation where Duke Ellington came one afternoon. We listened to his piano improvisation accompanied by his musicians. There is no audience, just us, the family. Every year Miró spends several months at my grandparents'. So that he could work, because he couldn't live without it, Grandpa made a beautiful engraving workshop. From there he produced some of his most beautiful engravings. Miró loved this closeness to nature, he wanted to see if his works "stood up" to this beauty. 1968
Catalogue of the Joan Miró exhibition at the Maeght Foundation in 1968, cover, of course, made by the artist in original lithography. The Maeght Foundation owns 275 works by Miró, including 8 large paintings, 160 sculptures, 73 watercolours, gouaches and drawings on paper, a monumental tapestry, an important stained glass window integrated into the architecture, 28 ceramics, as well as monumental works created especially for the maze garden. In addition, there are hundreds of engravings, lithographs and bibliophile works enhanced with drawings and prints. All of these masterpieces were donated to the Foundation by Joan Miró and my grandparents. It is thanks to their unparalleled generosity that a fabulous heritage has been built up, unique in France, a privileged place to share Joan Miró's dreams.
In 1968, four years after the opening of the Maeght Foundation, my grandfather asked Joan Miró to take over all the rooms to celebrate the artist's 75th birthday. Miró was there, relaxed despite the stakes, in a polo shirt, in the centre of the room, in front of journalists curious about contemporary art. You have to imagine what this represented at the time, finally big walls, spaces for his immense sculptures or ceramics, like the ones on the right, because the Centre Pompidou did not yet exist - it would open in 1977, 13 years after the Maeght Foundation which served as a model. In fact, the Foundation is: a permanent collection, ephemeral exhibitions, a library, artists' studios, integrated music with the Nuits de la Fondation and above all a contemporary building designed to be dedicated to art (the first in France, previously, existing places were used or rehabilitated, Jeu de Paume, Palais de Tokyo, Orangerie...)
"Femme et oiseaux", 1968. I have always been fascinated by Miró's daring, as here, at the age of 75, to tackle a two-metre high canvas. He had extreme mental strength.
Joan Miró by his friend Francesc Catala-Roca, 1968. Joan Miró in all simplicity in the courtyard of the Maeght Foundation, next to one of his sculptures. 1969
The book La Saga Maeght by Yoyo Maeght, with dedication. Link here
