Joan Miró

This special installation occurred in the past. The archival exhibition summary below describes the installation as it was conceived while on view.

This special installation of work by the leading modern artist Joan Miró (1893–1983) showcases the recent promised gift from Emily Rauh Pulitzer of two major paintings: 48 and Painting.

In 48 the number 48 hovers in an expansive, empty space, counterbalanced by a white cloud and a spidery form. In the mid-1920s Miró became fascinated by the number 48, the address of the house opposite his Paris studio. The strange juxtaposition of motifs in this work, made in 1927, is characteristic of the 1920s Surrealist imagery of Miró when he was at the center of the Parisian Surrealist movement. The later picture, Painting, dating from 1953, is a large-scale, magical work that evokes the sun, moon, planets, and constellations as well as floating birdlike and humanoid figures. Collector Joseph Pulitzer Jr. described this work as “a metaphor of cosmic space.”

In this installation 48 and Painting are placed with other related works by Miró from the Museum’s collection. Standing Nude, a painting from 1918, represents an early moment in Miró’s career when he was exploring the influence of Cubism, while at the same time incorporating organic themes that would anticipate his later work. A selection of prints and drawings dating from the 1940s to the 1960s provides context for Miró’s exploration of his own unique formal language. Lakeside, a watercolor drawing from 1942, and Sad Traveler, a color lithograph from 1955, represent a similar natural iconography—of constellations and a glowing red sun—to that in Painting.

Joan Miró is curated by Simon Kelly, curator of modern and contemporary art.