This superb tribute to a man whose legacy as an artist and as a Catalan is visible city-wide was founded in 1975 by Joan Miró himself, who wanted it to be a contemporary arts centre. The museum holds more than 11,000 examples of the artist’s colourful paintings, sketches and sculptures. The 400 or so on display trace Miró’s development from an innovative Surrealist phase in the 1920s to his place as one of the world’s most challenging masters in the 1960s.
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The New Gallery ExtensionThe Fundació celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2001 by opening a new extension (known as Sala K) to house 25 Miró paintings on long-term loan from a private collection. |
Façade, Fundació Joan Miró
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Tapis de la Fundació
This immense, richly-coloured tapestry represents the culmination of Miró’s work with textiles, which began in the 1970s.
L’Estel Matinal
This is the only one of 23 paintings on paper known as the Constellation Series held by the Fundació. The Morning Star’s introspective quality reflects Miró’s state of mind at the outbreak of World War II, when he was living in hiding in Normandy. Spindly shapes of birds, women and heavenly bodies are suspended in front of an empty space.
Pagès Català al Cla de Lluna
The figurative painting Catalan Peasant by Moonlight dates from the late 1960s and depicts two of Miró’s favourite themes: earth and night. The figure of the peasant, a simple collage of colour, is barely decipherable, as the crescent moon merges with his sickle and the night sky takes on the rich green tones of earth.
Home i Dona Davant un Munt d’Excrement
Tortured, misshapened and lurid semi-abstract figures attempt to embrace against a black sky. Miró’s pessimism at the time of Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement would soon be confirmed by the outbreak of Spain’s Civil War.
Sèrie Barcelona
The Fundació holds the only complete set of prints of this series of more than 50 black-and-white lithographs. This important collection is only occasionally on display.
Font de Mercuri
Alexander Calder donated the Mercury Fountain to the Fundació as a mark of his friendship with Miró. The work was an anti-fascist tribute, conceived in memory of the attack on the town of Almadén.
Terrace Garden
More of Miró’s vibrantly colourful and playful sculptures are randomly scattered on a spacious terrace from which you can appreciate city views and the rationalist architecture of Josep Lluis Sert’s geometric building. The 3-m (10-ft) tall Caress of a Bird (1967) dominates the terrace.
Visiting Exhibitions
Over the years, these temporary exhibitions (usually held in the west wing) have included retrospectives of high-profile artists such as Rothko, Warhol and Magritte.
Espai 13
This space showcases the experimental work of new artists from around the world. The exhibitions, which are based on a single theme each year, are usually radical and often make full use of new technologies.