L'Oro dell' Azzurro (The Gold of the Azure)

The Gold of the Azure, sometimes known by the original title of L'Oro dell' Azzurro, was completed by Joan Miro in 1967 and is instantly recognisable as having come from his hand.

The simple shapes to form surrealist interpretations are there, as are the crossed thin lines to produce star-like symbols which we see in a number of his paintings. Miro famously declared war on traditional art, pushing the boundaries during his career as to what was possible within a single canvas. He changed how many thought about what could be achieved and also went on to produce successful series of sculptures and ceramics too. There seemed no limit to his abilities, but his underlining drive was always to bring new ideas into the art world and challenge the stale accepted methods that had existed up to that point.

Many of this artist's paintings have a constellation appearance to them, seemingly representing plants and stars. This is very similar in that regard. But it is specifically the bright colour combinations that make L'Oro dell' Azzurro such a memorable painting. Those who have studied Miro's paintings in detail will be aware of how he produced several different visual languages that were used across series of compositions. Knowledge about these then allows us to have a better understanding about what each element in his paintings actually mean, particularly given that some of his artworks were accompanied by detailed glossaries which explained all of the different parts so that no-one could misunderstand his surrealist creations.

Despite it's bold layout, perhaps similar to The Red Sun, this is actually a lesser known painting from his career. Better known works such as Catalan Landscape provided an influence on many other notable modern artists, where as the rest of his oeuvre simply adds to the strength of his overall career as well as the variety to be found within it. He would sometimes work on different series of paintings at the same time, always experimenting with new ideas on how a canvas could recreate ideas that go far beyond just the art world. His achievements were considerable and also gained credit from other notable names such as Picasso and Breton.