Today, April 20, Joan Miró would have turned 125. His often humorous paintings and sculptures made the Catalan one of the most popular artists of the 20th century.
Comet Photo AG: Collector Aimé Maeght (left) and artist Joan Miró in Zurich, May 1969 (Com_L18-0240-0001-0002)
Joan Miró had a close friendship with the Paris gallery owner and art dealer Aimé Maeght. Together with his wife Marguerite Maeght, he established the Fondation Maeght near Nice in 1964. In addition to works by Miró, the permanent exhibition includes works by Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti, Marc Chagall and Eduardo Chillida. It is one of the most important European art collections. For Miró, the gardens of the Fondation were the ideal place to create a link between his sculptures and nature. As he himself said, his character was that of a gardener:
I work like a gardener or a winemaker. Everything takes time. For example, I didn’t suddenly come across my own language of form. It almost formed against my will. Things take their natural course. They grow, they mature. You have to refine. You have to water, as with salad (Fischer, p. 51).
Further reading:
Fischer, Gisela: Joan Miró von der Erde zum Himmel. München: Prestel, 2014.
Link:
Fondation Maeght: http://www.fondation-maeght.com/fr/fondation-maeght/presentation