From "Série noire et rouge" (Black and Red Series)
「黒と赤のシリーズ」より
Artist
MIRÓ, Joan ミロ、ジョアン
Birth Year
1893
Death Year
1983
Date
1938
Technique, Material, Format
etching
Dimension
17.0 x 25.7 cm
Edition
14/30
Category
Print by Foreign Artist
Inventory Number
88-PRF-013
Turn this etching upside down and look at the black areas—from the bottom left, you see a face with a giant nose, spikes like barbed wire, a person with both eyes open, a person hanging his head, and a person with arms outstretched. Overhead hangs a distorted sun. Now turn the picture back the right way around and look at the red. What do you notice? That’s right: It’s exactly the same motif as the black. Avoiding his native Spain during the civil war, Joan Miró chose to stay in Paris, but the turmoil in his home country must have still filled him with anxiety, anger and sadness. The monster with the large nose is thought to represent General Francisco Franco as he plans his military dictatorship, while the human figures are symbols of family (mother, daughter, and father). Furthermore, Miró has adopted the technique of printmaking, printing in black ink and then turning his plate upside down and printing over it in red. In this way, he has deliberately entrusted his expression of those chaotic times to a form of image-making beyond his control. (SAKAMOTO Kyoko)
Turn this etching upside down and look at the black areas—from the bottom left, you see a face with a giant nose, spikes like barbed wire, a person with both eyes open, a person hanging his head, and a person with arms outstretched. Overhead hangs a distorted sun. Now turn the picture back the right way around and look at the red. What do you notice? That’s right: It’s exactly the same motif as the black.
Avoiding his native Spain during the civil war, Joan Miró chose to stay in Paris, but the turmoil in his home country must have still filled him with anxiety, anger and sadness. The monster with the large nose is thought to represent General Francisco Franco as he plans his military dictatorship, while the human figures are symbols of family (mother, daughter, and father). Furthermore, Miró has adopted the technique of printmaking, printing in black ink and then turning his plate upside down and printing over it in red. In this way, he has deliberately entrusted his expression of those chaotic times to a form of image-making beyond his control.
(SAKAMOTO Kyoko)