Joan Miro: 1893-1983 (Basic Art) [Paperback]

Janis Mink (Author)

Book Description

Series: Basic Art | Publication Date: August 1, 1999

Joan Miro (1893-1983) is one of the most significant Spanish painters of the 20th century. His early work clearly shows the influence of Fauvism and Cubism. The Catalan landscape also shapes the themes and treatment of these initial works. In his travels, Miro encountered the intellectual avant-garde of his time. His friends included Francis Picabia, Tristan Tzara, Andr Masson, Jean Arp and Pablo Picasso. From the mid-twenties onward, Miro strove to leave direct objective references behind and developed the pictograms that typify his style. The pictures of this period, which include perhaps the most beautiful and significant ones of his whole oeuvre, dispense with spatiality and an unambiguous reference to objects. From now on, the surfaces are defined by numerals, writing, abstract emblems, and playful figures and creatures. Nineteen-forty-four saw the beginning of his extensive graphic oeuvre, ceramics, monumental mural works, and sculptures. In these works, too, the Catalan artist sought the solid foundation of a figurative, symbolic art with orientation as regards content: faces, stars, moons, rudimentary animal forms, letters. Joan Miro developed in several stages his characteristic flowing calligraphic style and his world of forms resembling shorthand symbols.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This title in the Modern Masters series focuses on the work of Joan Miro, one of the painters most often associated with surrealism. Miro studied art in his native Barcelona before joining the Paris art scene in the 1920s. Fantasy, dreams, and myths played an important role in Miro's early works, many of which are included in the more than 70 full-color reproductions of paintings, sculptures, and tapestries in this collection. This is a fine introduction to the monumental works of one of the foremost artists of the 20th century. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English, French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822859753
• ISBN-13: 978-3822859759
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #237,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Art > Art History > Regional
  • #50 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Art > Painting > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A concise and enjoyable introduction to the Catalan painter, June 30, 2010

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan Miro: 1893-1983 (Basic Art) (Paperback)

Taschen's "Basic Art" is a series of short, full-colour introductions to various artists that all weigh in at only 96 pages. These are an excellent way to discover painters you don't know about yet, and I've enjoyed working my way through the series. This volume on Joan Miro features a text by Janis Mink.

Mink charts Miro's stylistic evolution in a clear fashion, often mentioning relationships with other artists and writers of the day that influenced his work. The break from realism to fanciful representation is elucidated, and Mink really inspires a passion for deciphering Miro's language of symbols. Nonetheless, I felt that Mink's text had two weakness. The first is that it often makes reference to paintings that, perhaps for reasons of copyright, could not be reproduced within the book. Entries in the "Basic Art" series are usually entirely self-contained, but Mink would force the reader to seek out another introduction to Miro to understand her writing. The second weakness is that Mink does not say anything about Miro's relationship with the Spanish state in the postwar era, something that would surely interest many readers who know of Miro as "the Catalan national painter".

Nonetheless, these are essentially minor quibbles. If you want a quick introduction to Joan Miro, this is a good bet.

17 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miro the beuty, January 18, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Joan Miro: 1893-1983 (Basic Art) (Paperback)

This book is one that shows how Miro and maybye how people felt in that time period,which he lived so long.He made many beutyfull pictures and some that were just nonsense.I like his paintings so much i belive this book and him have inspiered me to be an artist one day.I am not very good but miro did not paint good but it was what he felt and that made him care and that is all that really matters.