Femme, oiseau, étoile (Tribute to Pablo Picasso), by Joan Miró (1966-73)

Technique: oil on canvas / Measures: 245 x 170 cm

In addition to women, the stars and birds are also part of Miró’s iconography. The birds sometimes look like fish, as a way of uniting Earth with the rest of the universe. In the painting above, the line separates the color blocks over a neutral background. As the title says, it’s a tribute to his friend Picasso, with who he participated in the 1937 Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he presented his “Guernica”.

Femme en transe par la fuite des étoiles filants, by Joan Miró

Technique: acrylic on canvas / Measures: 195 x 130 cm

Miró experimented with the newest artistic movements, like Abstract Expressionism, after travelling to the US in 1947. There his line becomes thicker and the black color blocks remind us of Mark Rothko. He presents women as a creating force.

Femme, personnage, oiseau, by Joan Miró (1973-77)

In the artwork above the paper offers the format and, in the background he stamped the palm of his hand. The woman dances as does the signature of the artist, an icon in the painting.

Once again we see the artist’s touch in the painting, with the color stains and leaks that accompany the dancing woman over an untreated background.

Femme, oiseau dans la nuit, by Joan Miró

Technique: oil, acrylic and carbon on canvas / Measures: 260 x 185 cm

The feminine figure is represented as earth itself. The color brown is applied in a conceptual way, as a result of the influence of such movement. The line acquires a bolder presence, as do the stars that always appear in his works.

From a trip to Japan, Miró is influenced by their minimalism and emptiness. But, at the same time, his strokes become stronger, as if trying to capture an unmoving movement. The upper line portrays the wind that subtly rock the poppies. It’s a silent representation of Nature. Two details call our attention: the absence of the woman and all of his other classic icons and the lack of signature. The background is worked to perfection and the signature appears in the back of the canvas. 

Miró’s lifetime work is a study to leave behind the traditional concepts of art and enter into a new stage, that that would open the doors to contemporary art. He painted till his final breath, as if seeking some kind of answer.

These 50 artworks, which belong to the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, but are presented here under the curatorial script of the Bellas Artes, are part of the collaboration agreement signed by both institutions in 2016.