Jean Miro (1893-1983)

Joan Miró was born in 1893 near Barcelona, Spain. The son of a goldsmith and jewelry-maker, he studied art even though his parents wanted him to become a businessman. To please them, he worked as an accountant for two years, but hated it and retuned to what he loved - making art. He had his first solo showing in 1918 at age 21. He tried some of the popular modern styles like Cubism and Fauvism, but didn't really find his own style until he went to Paris in 1920 where he met Pablo Picasso and other Impressionist artists. He traveled to the United States in 1947, and had a showing at the Museum of Modern Art in 1951 and again in 1959.

In addition to painting, he also worked on sculptures, ceramics and murals. He worked very hard and was very organized. He preferred painting to talking and despite his popularity he was very modest about his work. He died on December 25, 1983.

"In my pictures, there are tiny forms in vast empty spaces," Miró said. His landscapes have been described as charming, humorous, graceful, musical, energetic, optimistic, and dreamlike. He used bright, vivid colors and simple curved lines. One of his most famous pieces, Dutch Interior, is a colorful painting that looks like the illustration for a folktale. Influences on his work include Romantic, Realist, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism styles, as well as the art of Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, and Picasso.