Joan Miró was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1893. He began studying art at a private school at age 7 and was enrolled at a fine art school, La Llotja, in 1907. Miró also studied business but for mental health reasons chose to pursue a career in art. He then joined an art society called The Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc in Barcelona where he took drawing classes. At his first solo exhibition in 1918 at Galeries Dalmau, his work was criticized for characteristics typical in the Fauvism "Wild beast" movement. He used intensely bright colors and had painterly qualities in his work. Just as in Fauvism, Miró rejected preexisting notions of what art should be. In 1920, Miró moved to Paris, France where he was able to follow Fauvism and Cubism. His works were often classified as being from the movements of Surrealism, Fauvism, or Cubism and included paintings and sculpture. In 1924, Miró became part of a Surrealist group that focused on creating art that was dream-like and that was created in a manner that might capture the subconscious mind through automatism by allowing the hand to move randomly, among other techniques that were implemented by Surrealists.

His work is also known for symbolism containing many objects that are symbolic of complex ideas. Examples of this include the use of hair on the "head" of main characters in his artwork. This hair is made of 3-5 lines placed closely together. Stars and planets are used to describe dreams and feet on characters are used to describe the earth and reality. Birds are used by Miró to represent the connection between reality and dreams. Ladders are used to describe a need to escape from very difficult situations. The Spanish Civil War that Miró lived through may be one inspiration for his use of this symbol.

In 1929, Miró married Pilar Juncosa and in 1930 had a daughter named María Dolores Miró. Thanks to Matisse who displayed Miró's work in an art gallery opened in New York in 1931, Miró became well known in the United States. After the start of the Spanish Civil War, he was commissioned by the Spanish government to paint The Reaper for the Spanish Republican Pavilion at the 1937 Paris Exhibition. Miró showed his work in many exhibitions throughout the 1960s and became well-known world wide. He passed away in 1983, and his work has since influenced modern designers and painters, especially those working with color fields.

Artist: Joan Miró

Movement(s): Fauvism, Surrealism

Supplies needed:

Pencil, paper, crayons (or oil pastels), watercolor, cup of water, brush, paper towels

Learning Objectives:

• Students will learn about Joan Miró, Fauvism, and Surrealism

• Students will learn how symbols are used in art

• Students will learn how they can create an artwork with Fauvist and Surrealist properties.

Essential Questions:

• What are symbols and why are they used by people in art?

• What is dream-like? Why do people dream?

Hook:

Students will be asked to recall a dream that remember. Students will write about or sketch that dream on draft paper. Students will be asked to analyze their artwork for symbols.

Description:

The class will be introduced to a brief bio of Joan Miró. The class will analyze examples of his artwork and will discuss in them elements that correspond with Fauvism, Surrealism, and symbolism. Students will write about and sketch a dream that they recall. They will analyze their work for symbolism. Students will create a final version of their dream on quality paper, first in pencil and then in crayon or oil pastel with a watercolor wash over uncolored areas of the paper. After finishing their artworks, students will be asked to create an artist statement using art vocabulary to explain how their artwork depicts their dream.

Sequence:

Day 1: Intro to Joan Miró, Analysis of paintings, hook (creation of rough draft

inspired by dream)

Day 2: Final draft in pencil, addition of crayon or oil pastel

Day 3: Completion of adding crayon or oil pastel

Day 4: Watercolor wash, creation of an artist statement

Vocabulary:

Joan Miró: A Spanish artist known for the Surrealist and Fauvist characteristics of his work.

Fauvism: An Expressionist style of artwork from the early 20th century in which the colors that were used were vibrant, bold, and not naturalistic. Forms were distorted or free from the normal effort to make them realistic. Fauves literally means beasts in French. The term was first used by art critic Louis Vauxcelles when he saw the Expressionist artwork of Henri Matisse and André Derain at the salon d’automne in Paris, in 1905.

Surrealism: An art movement that began in Europe taking inspiration from the Dada movement. Surrealist art was experimental and intended to capture the subconscious mind. Although appearing to be realistic with naturalistic color, it incorporated irrational juxtapositions between objects. The Dada art movement was a rebellion against traditional art in that it incorporated art such as readymades which were everyday objects displayed as art to generate contemplative questions such as what is art and what is its purpose in society.

Symbolism: The use of objects or colors to represent ideas. For example the color blue is sometimes used to represent truth and clarity.

Color: Visual property of objects that are eyes interpret. Colors in paint are made by combining pigment (dry powder) created from sources such as berries with a binder like linseed oil that holds the paint together and a solvent like turpentine that thins the paint so that it can flow.