Etching and aquatint on BFK Rives
France, 1954
After Joan Miró (1893-1983) – Spanish artist, widely considered a Surrealist and pioneer of Automatism
‘Le Moulin au Café (The Coffee Ginder)’
Signed and dated in pencil lower right ‘Miró 1954’
Numbered in pencil lower left ‘200/300’
Printed by Georges Visat, Paris
Published by Maeght Editeur, Paris
Maeght 1701; Dupin 56
Full margins, matted
Plate dimensions: 19 ? x 22 in. (49.2 x 56.5 cm.)
Sheet dimensions: 25 x 29 in. (63.3 x 74.3 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 28 ¼ x 31 in. (71.8 x 78.7 cm.)
Very good condition

Through the construction of a highly textured plate surface, Miró infuses this etching with a sense of agitation and movement. With skillful manipulation of form and a limited color palette, the artist demonstrates his interest in collage and abstraction. The inclusion of a boldly printed advertisement calls forth a relationship to Picasso’s early studies of Synthetic Cubism.

Executed in 194, this etching and aquatint was printed by Georges Visat after Miró's original work, and published by Maeght, Paris. Miró was consulted and approved the final image created. Printed on BFK Rives paper, Visat's name appears engraved in the plate. The work is hand-signed and dated by Joan Miró, and numbered two hundred from an edition of three hundred. The plate measures 19 ? x 22 inches. In overall good condition with no stains, toning, tears or repairs.

Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983)

Widely considered one of the leading Surrealists, though never officially part of the group, Joan Miró pioneered a wandering linear style of Automatism—a method of “random” drawing that attempted to express the inner workings of the human psyche. Miró used color and form in a symbolic rather than literal manner, his intricate compositions combining abstract elements with recurring motifs like birds, eyes, and the moon. While he prized artistic freedom, Miró revered art history, basing a series of works on the Dutch Baroque interiors of Hendrick Sorgh and Jan Steen. In turn, Miró has inspired many artists—significantly Arshile Gorky, whose bold linear abstractions proved a foundational influence on Abstract Expressionism.