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Joan Miró. Plate 1 and Plate 2 from the Black and Red Series. 1938. Etchings, each 6 5/8 x 10 1/8" (16.8 x 25.8 cm) © 1998 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris |
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(2 of 4 pages) In Plate 1 of the Black and Red Series, Miró seems to test out the tools of etching as he familiarizes himself with the technique. The imagery suggests primal elements such as fire, sun, and stars, and includes odd creatures and code-like markings. In Plate 2, Miró presents a cast of characters. A large vertical female figure suggests a mother whose daughter stands beside her; a small figure at right could be the father. This family seems frenzied and terror-stricken, with the father particularly diminished and ineffectual in the face of danger. (It should be noted here that Miró and his wife had one child, a daughter, who was eight years old in 1938.) A ferocious head at the lower left seems to act as a fulcrum for the composition, causing the anxiety. |
