Credit

Maternité [Maternity]

Joan Miró

© Successió Miró. All Rights Reserved. ADAGP, Paris and DACS London 2021

This painting by Joan Miró has its origins in a postcard of a Spanish dancer wearing a polka-dot dress. While Miró rejected affiliation with artistic movements, his deconstruction of this figure in two-dimensional shapes gives the painting its surrealist quality. Even knowing Miró’s inspiration, the image can be perplexing. One could distinguish familiar shapes in this unfamiliar setting: see for example the woman’s head with flowing hair in the top left corner, or the breast on the bottom left. Combined, they suggest a breastfeeding mother.

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