One of the basic functions of the Diputació de Barcelona (the Barcelona Provincial Council) in cultural matters is that of facilitating access to the cultural heritage for all of the citizens, whatever their place of residence. Bringing to the public of Viladecans, Mataró or Manresa some of the great works that can be seen in the museums of Barcelona by means of exhibitions conceived precisely to accomplish this function is one of the best possible ways of contributing to the diffusion and knowledge of contemporary art.

President of the Diputació de Barcelona

The Culture Area of the Diputació de Barcelona, through its Artistic Diffusion Office, gives support to the municipal policies of promotion of contemporary art by means of various programmes, some of which are the fruit of collaboration with other institutions, such as the one conducted since 1997, ‘The MACBA in …’, or this itinerant exhibition Joan Miró: Gallery of Antiportraits, organised jointly with the Fundació Joan Miró of Barcelona, which can be seen in eighteen municipalities.

It is a great satisfaction for the Diputació de Barcelona to give support to initiatives such as this which, on one hand, help to promote the municipal art galleries of our territorial demarcation, and, on the other, help to popularise leading artists of the 20^th century such as Joan Miró.

President of the Culture Area of the Diputació de Barcelona

It will soon be twenty-five years since the Fundació Joan Miró opened its doors to the public. During this time it has presented many exhibitions and welcomed a great many visitors.

Now, in celebrating this twenty-fifth anniversary, we are pleased to be able to take the work of our founder to various points of our geography, thanks to the collaboration agreement with the Diputació de Barcelona.

For many people, ‘Joan Miró: Gallery of Antiportraits’ may represent a re-encounter with an artist who is close to all of us, while for others it may signify the discovery of one of the greatest creative personalities of the 20^th century, and for still others a first approach which will require greater knowledge. Whichever is your case, if you want to get to know Joan Miró better, come to the Fundació, where you will always be welcome.

Director of the Fundació Joan Miró

Throughout his prolific life, Joan Miró felt an attraction for all fields of artistic creativity. ‘I am neither a printmaker nor a painter,’ he once said, ‘but someone who tries to express himself with all of the means he has available.’

His receptive attitude led him, in his maturity, to find a common wavelength with younger artists. In this way, in the 1960’s he began to paint large-format canvases. They are works in which the language of signs and symbols becomes more and more synthesised, while the material with which he works, gestuality and the unexpected, features which are also characteristic of new movements such as action painting or European expressionist art, take on substantial importance.

This evolution also reveals itself in Miró’s graphic work, which acquired a new dynamism from 1967 onwards, when he began to work in carborundum printing, invented by Henri Goetz. In contrast with traditional printmaking techniques, which consist in ‘burning out’ the metal sheet and are slower in production, carborundum printing is done by relief. It provided Miró with a vigorous material and allowed him a rapid, powerful stroke which enabled him to work large-format prints with greater richness and freedom.

‘can express myself without obstacles, with a single impulse of the spirit, without feeling paralysed or slowed down by an outdated technique that could deform the free expression, the purity and the freshness of the final result.’

In one and the same print, and by using different plates, Joan Miró combined this new technique with those he was already using, such as etching and aquatint. The qualities of each one allowed him to apply painting processes such as dripping and grattage in a print.

Creative tension and spontaneous execution, which led Miró to use unorthodox and improvised tools such as a finger or a hand, were also decisive in the creation of each print, with the collaboration of specialist printmakers.

In the collection of prints which we present in this exhibition, the colour black dominates the compositions and forms figures that are anthropomorphic, primitive and full of humour, placed at the centre of the composition and surrounded by astral signs, with birds often marking out the space and connecting these earthly figures with the celestial world.

They are figures from myths or fables, captured in the essence of an expression and counterposed to all types of representation or imitation; they are anti-portraits, in which Miró particularly emphasises the eyes, arranged frontally, which fix a never-ending gaze on the viewer.

Certain aspects of these works, such as the handprints, the black designs, the irregular backgrounds, the multiplicity of eyes or the frontality of the figures, show us Joan Miró not just as a creator of new languages or an experimenter in new techniques, but also as an artist who also drinks from the fountains of the past, such as cave painting and Romanesque art.

Works exhibited

1 Le matador (The Matador) 1969
Etching, aquatint, drypoint and carborundum
106.5 x 73.5 cm
75 copies on Arches paper 139.5 x 95 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8693

2 L'ogre enjoué (The Laughing Ogre) 1969
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
73.5 x 106.5 cm
75 copies on Arches paper 94 x 136 cm, numbered and signed and some copies hors commerce, signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Arte Adrien Maeght, Paris
FJM 8695

3 Les deux amis (The Two Friends) 1969
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
71.5 x 106.5 cm
75 copies on Arches paper 96 x 140 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Atelier Maeght, Saint Paul
FJM 8690

4 Le chef d'orchestre (The Orchestra Conductor) 1974
Etching and aquatint
113.8 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8707

5 L'étranglé (The Strangled Man) 1974
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
114.4 x 73.9 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 137.5 x 96 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8708

6 La femme toupie (Spinning Top Woman) 1974
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
118 x 74.1 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 139 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8710

7 Le Pitre Rose (The Pink Buffoon) 1974
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
115.5 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138.5 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8714

8 Le permissionnaire (The Soldier on Leave) 1974
Etching and aquatint
114 x 73.8 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8713

9 Le somnambule (The Sleep Walker) 1974
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
114.8 x 74.5 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 24 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 8717

10 Souris noire à la mantille (Black Mouse with Mantilla) 1975
Aquatint
115 x 74.7 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138.5 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 13 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10533

11 Souris rouge à la mantille (Red Mouse with Mantilla) 1975
Aquatint
114.7 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96 cm, numbered and signed and some copies hors commerce, signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10531

12 Le rat des sables (The Sand Rat) 1975
Aquatint
74 x 115 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 96 x 138.5 cm, numbered and signed and 13 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10557

13 La manucure évaporée (The Flighty Manicurist) 1975
Etching and aquatint
74 x 115.5 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 96.5 x 138 cm, numbered and signed and 13 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signedMaeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10529

14 La contre-balancée (The Counterbalanced) 1975
Etching and aquatint
115.5 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138.5 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 13 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10535

15 La taupe hilare (The Laughing Mole) 1975
Etching and aquatint
74 x 115.5 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 96 x 138 cm, numbered and signed and 13 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10539

16 Galathée (Galathea) 1976
Etching, aquatint and embossing
115 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10543

17 L'aigrette rouge (The Red Feather) 1976
Aquatint and carborundum
115 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138.5 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10553

18 L'égyptienne (The Egyptian Woman) 1977
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
140 x 96.5 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 140 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10555

19 Le brahmane (The Brahman) 1978
Aquatint, carborundum and grattage
110.7 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 13 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10523

20 L'oustachi (The Ustasha) 1978
Aquatint and carborundum
114.3 x 74.2 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10551

21 La danseuse créole (The Creole Dancer) 1978
Etching, aquatint and carborundum
114.5 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138.5 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10537

22 Mambo (Mambo) 1978
Etching and aquatint
114.3 x 73.,9 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10549

23 La fugitive (The Fugitive) 1978
Etching and aquatint
113 x 74 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 134,5 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10527

24 Pantagruel (Pantagruel) 1978
Etching, aquatint, carborundum and grattage
106.8 x 74.7 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 137,6 x 96 cm, numbered and signed and 12 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10560

25 L'aveugle parmi les oiseaux (The Blind Man among the Birds) 1978
Etching, aquatint, carborundum and grattage
107 x 75 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 135 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 15 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10521

26 La métamorphose (The Metamorphosis) 1978
Etching, aquatint, carborundum and grattage
107 x 75 cm
50 copies on Arches paper 138 x 96.5 cm, numbered and signed and 14 copies hors commerce, numbered in Roman figures and signed Maeght éditeur, Paris
Printer: Morsang, Paris
FJM 10525

Joan Miró, Gallery of Antiportraits is a traveling exhibition organised by the Fundació Joan Miró of Barcelona and sponsored by the Culture Area of the Diputació de Barcelona.

Concept

Production

With the cooperation of the city councils of

Technical coordination

Artistic Diffusion Office (Diputació de Barcelona) and Fundació Joan Miró

Text

Direction of the educational work

Educational Department of the Fundació Joan Miró

Exhibition fitting-up

Frames

Packing

Transport

Insurance

Translation

Paul Martin