Search instructions
View alphabetical lists of all artists currently featured on the site.
Select the initial of the artist's name that you are looking for. Scroll down the list until you find the name, and select it for more information about the artist and his or her work.
Search Tip
Artists are organised by their most commonly-used names. This is usually but not always their surname e.g. Leonardo da Vinci is under L, Van Gogh is under V and Raphael is under R.
![Tête de Paysan Catalan [Head of a Catalan Peasant]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/6/GMA 4252.jpg)
- © Succession Miro/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2006
-
Enlarge
![Tête de Paysan Catalan [Head of a Catalan Peasant]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/6/GMA%204252.jpg)
Tête de Paysan Catalan [Head of a Catalan Peasant]
Joan Miró
- © Succession Miro/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2006
Joan Miró
Tête de Paysan Catalan [Head of a Catalan Peasant]1925On Display | UK, LONDON, TATE
This is the third of four ‘portraits’ Miró made of a Catalan peasant, reduced to the most basic form of eyes, wavy beard and distinctive red cap. The painting can also be read as a self-portrait, with the artist asserting his Catalonian identity. It was painted at a time when Miró was moving away from a Cubist treatment of space. In this painting, forms float freely in the picture space, liberating the figure. Many of the artist’s works of this period were influenced by hallucinations and dream imagery but most were preceded by preparatory sketches. The painting was formerly in the collection of the Surrealist patron Roland Penrose and is now jointly owned with Tate, London.
Glossary Open
Cubism
A style of painting originated by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the first two decades of the 20th century. Instead of painting a figure or object from a fixed position they represented it from multiple viewpoints.
Picture Space
The illusionary space created within a two dimensional work of art.
Surrealism
A literary and artistic movement founded by the poet André Breton in 1924. Many of the associated artists, such as Max Ernst and Jean Arp, had previously been involved with Dadaism. The movement sought to challenge conventions through the exploration of the subconscious mind, invoking the power of dreams and elements of chance. Cultural hierarchies were challenged by the combination of diverse elements in collages and sculptural assemblages. The movement is also notable for the collaborations between artists and writers evident in the Surrealists' many publications.
Details
- Accession no. GMA 4252
- Medium Oil on canvas
- Size 92.40 x 73.00 cm
- Credit Purchased jointly with Tate, with the assistance of The Art Fund 1999
Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893 - 1983)
Miró was born in Barcelona and moved to Paris in 1920. His early work combined miniaturist detail with a cubist fragmentation of space. In Paris he abandoned this style and began to paint an imaginary world full of strange, insect-like figures and forms, which seemed to float in space. This fantastic sign language, which was partly inspired by images from the artist's unconscious mind, soon became a hallmark of Surrealist art. Although he spent time away from Spain, Miró remained interested in Catalonian folklore throughout his career.
Glossary Open
Cubism
A style of painting originated by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the first two decades of the 20th century. Instead of painting a figure or object from a fixed position they represented it from multiple viewpoints.
Surrealism
A literary and artistic movement founded by the poet André Breton in 1924. Many of the associated artists, such as Max Ernst and Jean Arp, had previously been involved with Dadaism. The movement sought to challenge conventions through the exploration of the subconscious mind, invoking the power of dreams and elements of chance. Cultural hierarchies were challenged by the combination of diverse elements in collages and sculptural assemblages. The movement is also notable for the collaborations between artists and writers evident in the Surrealists' many publications.