Joan Miró

Private Collection, Spain

Acquired from the above by the present owner

In this calligraphically powerful composition from 1977, Miró explores the subversive potential of his established lexicon of signs and symbols.  His highly graphic rendering of Personnage pays little regard to defining its titular subject, which is purely a vehicle for the artist's emphatic application of black pigment.  The gesture is not unlike the tag of an urban graffiti artist, where the economized, bold mark is the unmistakable calling card of a complex artistic persona.

For Miró, the titles of his paintings were secondary to the gestural strength of his execution.  Often assigning them generalized titles such as 'woman,' 'bird,' or in the case of the present work, 'person,'  the artist relinquished narrative control on his pictures as soon as he completed them.  The same year he painted the present work, the artist addressed ambiguity inherent in these pictures: "It might be a dog, a woman, or whatever. I don't really care. Of course, while I am painting, I see a woman or a bird in my mind, indeed, very tangibly a woman or a bird. Afterward, it's up to you" (J. Miró & Georges Raillard, Ceci est la couleur de mes rêves, Paris, 1977, p. 128).