Painting (1936)

This lesser known artwork from Joan Miro arrived in 1936 and is a part of a series of paintings from this period where the artist tried out a number of new ideas within the continued devotion to abstract art.

We find a neutral brown background here, which Miro regularly used in order to best show off his typical palette that would then sit on top. In this case he chooses white and black as the predominant foreground colours, with a mixture of thick shapes, with some lines added between. There are also touches of yellow and red to the right hand side which just brightens up the completed piece. Miro studied pre-historic cave paintings early in his life and was known to be passionate about this style of art, prefering to the traditional methods found in European art from the Early Renaissance up to around the era of the impressionists. We can see elements of his passion within the abstract forms found here, as well as the reduced palette which he preferred for this style.

Miro spent a number of years searching for alternative materials with which to create his abstract scenes and wondered what else could be used instead of the traditional oils. Wood can be found in a number of pieces, as can other random items which he literally found lying around from time to time. You may also find casein, shoe polish and even sand from time to time as he seemed to be considering the tactile nature of his work, well before he moved more consistently into the art form of sculpture.

There is also a fairly similar composition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum from the very same year, where the colours are the same but the items are amended and re-arranged. That institution is a great place to visit if you find yourself in Madrid, Spain, and also features paintings from the likes of Jan van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer, Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens. In all, this Spanish city hosts much of the finest art in the world, ranking favourably against the likes of New York, Paris and London. They also have good coverage of the full breadth of European art ever since the Middle Ages.