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Formal And Contextual Analysis Of The Spanish Artist Joan Mireau

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Spanish artist Joan Miró was a central figure to the 20th century avant-garde.
He is most widely recognized for his contributions to Surrealism. His unique use of line, shapes, and color fulfill the Surrealist idea of creating work that liberates the creative potential of one’s unconscious mind. The forthcoming analysis will examine a painting by Miró completed in 1924 titled Pastorale, now located in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. This paper will provide biographical information on the artist followed by a formal and contextual analysis of the painting Pastorale. This analysis will draw links between Miró’s development as an artist prior to his time in Paris, his transition into the Surrealist movement, and …show more content…

Following his formal training, Miró and a fellow artist friend rented a studio for two years and developed their artistic styles. In 1918, at the age of 25, he held his first solo show at his gallery in Barcelona. In the same year, Miró founded “Agrupació Courbet”- a group of young artists opposed to the conservative traditions of Catalan art and wanting to renew the 20th century. The fact that the group was named after French realist painter Gustave Courbet evidences the artists’ revolutionary attitude. The group dissolved after one year but by this time, Miró had a breadth of artistic influences. Between 1912 and 1920, he took an interest in the vibrant colors of the French Fauve painters and the fractured compositions of the Cubists. He painted still-lives, nudes, and landscapes in similar styles to Cézanne and Matisse. His painting Still Life With Rose, 1916 contains the linearity and geometric focus of Cubism while Nord-Sud, 1917 emphasizes bold color and painterliness associated with …show more content…

The rest of the year (summer) he spent in Montroig, Catalonia. In Paris, Miró was neighbors with André Masson - a French artist that was prominent to Surrealism and automatic art, in which the hand is given freedom to move across a canvas without conscious planning in order to uncover thoughts and images from the subconscious mind. Similar to Picasso, Masson opened new doors for Miró by introducing him to a number of Surrealist artists. Miró attended gatherings at Masson’s studio in which avant-garde poets and writers converged to discuss ideas. In 1923, Miró makes friends with Ernest Hemingway who purchases The Farm for a large sum of money. This was monumental for Miró because, at the time, he had very little money and was working tirelessly to promote his artwork. It was also in 1923 that Miró painted Tilled Field, Catalan Landscape (The Hunter) and Pastorale while in Montroig - which mark another major turning point in his style. In 1925, Miró meets André Breton during a gathering at the gallery of André Masson and around the same time holds his first exhibition in Paris at the Galerie

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