Portrait IV, 1938 by Joan Miro

Portrait IV, 1938 by Joan Miro
Portrait IV, 1938 by Joan Miro

Portrait IV is of a completely different kind, although it was painted at the same time as Miro's Decoration of a Nursery.

Set against a surface with smooth colours that run into each other, there are several coloured symbols - stars, suns and comets - in glowing red, yellow and green. The configuration consists of two parts: from below, a black trunk protrudes into the blue surface, bearing a yellow portion of a neck, in which we can recognize Miro's well-known almond sign as a symbol of femininity. A thin line with a number of offshoots and a colourfully patterned female breast links the figure to a large, white shape. Tiny symbols as well as red and yellow spots indicate a human body. The rich colours and the witty symbolic language make this picture a feast for the eye, while at the same time adding a new fantastic variant to Miro's repertoire of female figures.