Reviews
Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape is a beautiful book, and its essays are both informative and thought-provoking...., The exhibition's layout, together with the accompanying scholarly catalog, enables one to begin to understand Mir's progression from an art of detailed realism...through a later phase of expressionistic and Fauve-like paintings, and then into a burst of surrealistic excess..., The exhibition's layout, together with the accompanying scholarly catalog, enables one to begin to understand Miró's progression from an art of detailed realism...through a later phase of expressionistic and Fauve-like paintings, and then into a burst of surrealistic excess..., "A new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art…makes a spirited attempt to find and explore the politics." "Through the critical writing…[Miró] emerges as a consistently moral force…what speaks loudest is the portrait of Miró as an artist as committed to liberty and social transformation as to art itself." "The National Gallery's Miro exhibit is an artist's astonishing chronological journey through the major movements of modern art." "Sometimes an art exhibit comes along that is so stunning it becomes a travel destination. Such is at the National Gallery of Art." " is a beautiful book, and its essays are both informative and thought-provoking…." "To say that the show is grand in scale-with pieces dating from 1918 to 1974-is an understatement…" "The exhibition's layout, together with the accompanying scholarly catalog, enables one to begin to understand Miró's progression from an art of detailed realism…through a later phase of expressionistic and Fauve-like paintings, and then into a burst of surrealistic excess…" "An illustrated retrospective survey focuses on Miró's politically engaged art.", Through the critical writing…[Miró] emerges as a consistently moral force…what speaks loudest is the portrait of Miró as an artist as committed to liberty and social transformation as to art itself., To say that the show is grand in scale--with pieces dating from 1918 to 1974--is an understatement..., Joan Mir: The Ladder of Escape is a beautiful book, and its essays are both informative and thought-provoking...., Sometimes an art exhibit comes along that is so stunning it becomes a travel destination. Such is Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape at the National Gallery of Art., The National Gallery's Miro exhibit is an artist's astonishing chronological journey through the major movements of modern art., A new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art...makes a spirited attempt to find and explore the politics., Through the critical writing...[Mir] emerges as a consistently moral force...what speaks loudest is the portrait of Mir as an artist as committed to liberty and social transformation as to art itself., Sometimes an art exhibit comes along that is so stunning it becomes a travel destination. Such is Joan Mir: The Ladder of Escape at the National Gallery of Art., Through the critical writing...[Miró] emerges as a consistently moral force...what speaks loudest is the portrait of Miró as an artist as committed to liberty and social transformation as to art itself.
Synopsis
Joan Mir 's paintings are among the most widely recognized of any modern artist, reproduced everywhere from books to T-shirts to posters. While he is most often seen as a surrealist or a postwar abstract painter, terms he rejected, this book brings new insights into Mir 's work by framing it in the context of the turbulent times in which he lived. Mir 's contemporary Picasso left Spain, promising never to return under a Fascist government. In contrast, Mir chose internal exile, removing himself to the island of Mallorca, a decision that has led to him being viewed as a less political artist. This book challenges that impression by focusing on Mir 's politically engaged works, from the rural, anarchist tradition and strong Catalan nationalism reflected in early paintings like The Farm and Head of a Catalan Peasant to the triptych The Hope of a Condemned Man (1974) through which he publicly declared his opposition to Franco. Drawing on new scholarship from an international group of experts, the book accompanies the first exhibition in nearly half a century to show work from throughout Mir 's career. It sheds new light on the life and achievements of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century., A superbly illustrated, retrospective survey that focuses on Miró's politically engaged art, published to accompany a major touring exhibition., Joan Miró's paintings are among the most widely recognized of any modern artist,reproduced everywhere from books to T-shirts to posters. While he is most often seen as a surrealist or a postwar abstract painter, terms he rejected, this book brings new insights into Miró's work by framing it in the context of the turbulent times in which he lived. Miró's contemporary Picasso left Spain, promising never to return under a Fascist government. In contrast, Miró chose internal exile, removing himself to the island of Mallorca, a decision that has led to him being viewed as a less political artist. This book challenges that impression by focusing on Miró's politically engaged works, from the rural, anarchist tradition and strong Catalan nationalism reflected in early paintings like The Farm and Head of a Catalan Peasant to the triptych The Hope of a Condemned Man (1974) through which he publicly declared his opposition to Franco. Drawing on new scholarship from an international group of experts, the book accompanies the first exhibition in nearly half a century to show work from throughout Miró's career. It sheds new light on the life and achievements of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century., Joan Miró's paintings are among the most widely recognized of any modern artist, reproduced everywhere from books to T-shirts to posters. While he is most often seen as a surrealist or a postwar abstract painter, terms he rejected, this book brings new insights into Miró's work by framing it in the context of the turbulent times in which he lived. Miró's contemporary Picasso left Spain, promising never to return under a Fascist government. In contrast, Miró chose internal exile, removing himself to the island of Mallorca, a decision that has led to him being viewed as a less political artist. This book challenges that impression by focusing on Miró's politically engaged works, from the rural, anarchist tradition and strong Catalan nationalism reflected in early paintings like The Farm and Head of a Catalan Peasant to the triptych The Hope of a Condemned Man (1974) through which he publicly declared his opposition to Franco. Drawing on new scholarship from an international group of experts, the book accompanies the first exhibition in nearly half a century to show work from throughout Miró's career. It sheds new light on the life and achievements of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
