Carnival of the Harlequin
| Carnival of the Harlequin |
|---|
| Joan Miró , 1924/25 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 66 × 90.5 cm |
|
Albright-Knox Art Gallery , Buffalo , New York.
Link to the picture |
Carnival of the Harlequin ( Le carnaval d'Arlequin ) is a painting by Joan Miró , which hecreatedin Paris in 1924/25. It is considered an important work of his surrealist period. It has been in the holdings of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo since 1940.
To the work
Miró's encounter with the surrealists around André Breton and the publication of the “First Surrealist Manifesto” in 1924 influenced him to express the unconscious in his work. The relatively small painting Carnival of the Harlequin , which was created during this period, shows signs and dreamlike apparitions in a room celebrating Carnival ; a mechanical guitarist with a bird's head plays the music. At the top right a window opens a view of the apparently nocturnal surroundings, the left black tip stands for the Eiffel Tower . An arrow appears below this window, which breaks a dark circle that is supposed to represent the earth's circle. On the right edge of the picture on a blue table with a baluster-shaped foot are a fish, birds and other, unidentifiable things. Playing cats, figures with circular faces - the bearded figure with the hat represents the harlequin - a comet , two cylinder shapes with eyes, a starfish , a cube with a slipping insect, notes and other populate the picture. A ladder with a few rungs leans against the left edge of the picture; the center of the picture is occupied by two intersecting worm-like shapes; one ends with a wide open white hand.
Two details appear realistic: mold and cracks in the wall are signs of decay. Miró followed Leonardo da Vinci's well-known advice, for example to use the irregularities of a wall or the drawing of the marble as the starting point for a picture. Such sources of inspiration were discussed in the artistic circles around Miró at the time. Much later, in 1939, Miró published the poetic text Le Carnaval d'Arlequin in Verve magazine , which referred to the painting.
With this work, Miró was involved in the exhibition Peinture surréaliste in the Galerie Pierre in Paris, which took place in 1925; other exhibiting artists were Giorgio de Chirico , Paul Klee , Man Ray , Pablo Picasso , Hans Arp and Max Ernst .
Provenance
From 1926 to 1929 the painting was owned by André Breton; later it was bought by private owners and galleries. In 1940 it became part of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo via Pierre Matisse's gallery .
literature
- Janis Mink: Joan Miró . Taschen, Cologne 2006, ISBN 978-3-8228-6367-1
Web links
- Provenance information of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (English)
