By Joan Miró
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph and pochoir by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Figures davant el mar (Figures Before the Sea), originates from the historic 1934 album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX. Published by Llibreria Catalonia, Barcelona, under the direction of Antonio Lopez Llausas, Editeur, Barcelona, 1934, and under the supervision of Joan Prats, Barcelona, and Josep Lluis Sert, Barcelona; printed by Pochoir Publicity Art, Barcelona, under the direction of J. Mateu, Barcelona, 1934, the work reflects Miros early mastery of Surrealist biomorphism and his exceptional sensitivity to the pochoir technique, whose saturated, hand-applied colors were ideally suited to his luminous Mediterranean palette.
Executed as a lithograph and pochoir on velin paper, this work measures 13 x 11.1875 inches (33.02 x 28.42 cm). Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. Printed by Pochoir Publicity Art, Barcelona, under the direction of J. Mateu.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Joan Miro (1893–1983)
Title: Figures davant el mar (Figures Before the Sea), from the album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX, 1934
Medium: Lithograph and pochoir on velin paper
Dimensions: 13 x 11.1875 inches (33.02 x 28.42 cm)
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1934
Publisher: Llibreria Catalonia, Barcelona; under the direction of Antonio Lopez Llausas, Editeur, Barcelona, with the supervision of Joan Prats and Josep Lluis Sert
Printer: Pochoir Publicity Art, Barcelona; under the direction of J. Mateu
Catalogue raisonne reference: Dupin, Jacques, and Joan Miro. Miro Engraver 1928–1960. Rizzoli, 1984, illustration 13. Cramer, Patrick. Joan Miro: The Illustrated Books: Catalogue Raisonne. Patrick Cramer, 1989, illustration 11.
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From the album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX, 1934, published by Llibreria Catalonia, Barcelona
About the Publication:
The 1934 album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX, stands as one of the most ambitious, sophisticated, and culturally significant Catalan art publications of the interwar period, conceived at a moment when Barcelona was a thriving hub of artistic modernity. Produced by Llibreria Catalonia under the direction of Antonio Lopez Llausas, with the close involvement of Joan Prats and Josep Lluis Sert—two of the most influential Catalan cultural figures of the twentieth century—the album embodied a vision of Catalonia as an active, forward-looking center of international avant-garde thought, connected intellectually and aesthetically to Paris, yet deeply rooted in Mediterranean identity. Unlike standard periodicals, D'Aci i d’Alla functioned as a hybrid fine art album, design object, and critical journal, integrating essays, photography, architecture, poetry, and original artworks in a unified modernist aesthetic. The 1934 Numero Extraordinari, devoted to twentieth-century art, was particularly ambitious in scope: it surveyed the newest movements in modernism while highlighting Catalonia’s unique contributions to the international avant-garde. Its inclusion of an original Joan Miro pochoir...
Category
1930s Surrealist Joan Miró Art