Location

225 German Expressionism & Surrealism

Fun Fact

The Spanish artist Miró was part of the Surrealist movement. He created paintings with the ambiguity of dreams whose meaning is just beyond one's grasp. What do you imagine is the meaning behind this painting?

Description

On the eve of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) Miró painted a series of images showing monstrous figures screaming or running through bizarre landscapes. This painting, an early work in the series, depicts a woman with raised arms fleeing toward the man at the far right. The cylindrical shape looming on the horizon suggests the barrel of a cannon; the sinuous, curving form may represent rising smoke. Miró heightened the intensity of the stark, garish colors through the unusual technique of applying oil over copper, rather than canvas.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed on back: "Joan Miró / "Nocturne" / 9/11-16/11/35"

Provenance

Roland Penrose, London (1956); (E.V. Thaw)

Citations

Henning, Edward B. Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1987. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 128, no. 37

Robinson, William H., Jordi Falgàs, Carmen Belen Lord, and Josefina Alix Trueba. Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí. [Cleveland, OH]: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2006. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 374, fig. 5, no. 7:53

Henning, Edward B. The Spirit of Surrealism. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1979. Mentioned: p. 77-78, 174; Reproduced: p. 77, no.29

Exhibition history

"Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí. Miró, Dalí," Cleveland Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 10/15/2006 - 6/3/2007, cat. no. 7:53, p. 374, repr. fig. 3, 374.

"Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting, 1927-1937," New York: Museum of Modern Art, 11/2/2008 - 1/12/2009.

Tate Modern, London (4/14/2011 - 9/11/2011), Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona (10/13/2011 - 3/25/2012), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (5/6/2012 - 8/12/2012): "Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape", ex. cat. no. 49, p. 81.

Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).

Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987).

Joan Miró. Museum of Modern Art, NY (organizer) (October 17, 1993-January 11, 1994).

Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).

Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí (1868-1939). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15, 2006-January 7, 2007); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (co-organizer) (March 4-June 3, 2007).

Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape. Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (April 14-September 11, 2011); Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain (October 15, 2011-March 18, 2012); National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (May 6-August 12, 2012).