Joan Miró

Joan Miró was born April 20, 1893, in Barcelona, Spain. He combined abstract art with Surrealist fantasy. His mature style evolved from the tension between his fanciful, poetic impulse, and his vision of the harshness of modern life.

Miro initially went to business school as well as art school, but began his working career when he was a teenager as a clerk. In 1911, Miro overcame a serious battle with typhoid illness, and at about the same time he abandoned the business world completely to devote his entire life to painting. Miro's early art, like that of the similarly influenced Fauves and Cubists exhibited in Barcelona, was inspired by works of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cezanne The resemblance of Miro's work to that of the intermediate generation of the avant-garde has led scholars to dub this period his Catalan Fauvist period. In 1918, Joan Miro was set up for his first solo exhibit at the Dalmau Galleries in Barcelona.

He worked extensively in lithography and produced many murals, tapestries, and sculptures for public spaces. In spite of his fame, Miró, an introvert, continued to devote himself exclusively to looking and creating.

In 1976, the Joan Miro Foundation Center of Contemporary Arts was opened in the city of Barcelona, which was his home city, and where he would often return for his inspirations. In 1979, four years after this opened, he was also named the Doctor Honoris Causa, by the University of Barcelona, for the work he had done, as well as his influence on art.

Not only did Miro take a distinct approach to creation, but he also focused on a number of mediums and forms during his career. This has made Joan Miro one of the most celebrated Spanish artists, and one who has created a unique style which many followed years after his death in 1983.