Joan Miró's 1928 Dutch Interiors: Surrealist Composition and Technique

General Documentation: Joan Miró's Dutch Series

Artwork Details

• Author: Joan Miró
• Chronology: 1928
• Style: Surrealist
• Technique: Oil
• Support: Canvas
• Location: Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA)

Context and Reference

In 1928, Miró traveled to Holland. He was strongly impressed by some 17th-century Dutch painters and subsequently created a series of works executed in his own style. For this specific piece, sometimes referred to as "Outside Holland," Miró took "The Lute Player's Toilet" by Hendrick Martensz Sorgh as a reference.

Formal Elements

Drawing and Color

• Drawing: Used to create outlines, which are then filled with an even stain (color block).
• Colors: Intense color schemes, applied without modulation or degradation. The background is resolved using two colors. Light is notably absent.

Composition and Symbolism

The work is the result of a process of radical simplification, reducing all traditional elements (light, proportion, volume) to the essentials (line, color). Miró creates his own universe featuring:

• Distorted shapes, often resembling amoebas (reflecting important scientific discoveries of the era).
• A developing personal language marked by recurring symbols.
• Lines that cross and connect objects.
• Natural elements (cats, birds) are reduced and transformed into symbolic representations of sexuality:
  • Ovoid forms: Female sexuality.
  • Sharp forms: Male sexuality.
• Objects appear to be floating, lacking stable support.
• Bodies are dematerialized (the body object is often represented as a filament).

Miró championed physical automatism as a method of image production, creating forms as if they were a blot, without conscious forethought.

Visual Inventory

The painting includes transformed representations of the original scene's elements:

• Lute and Lute Player (Man playing)
• Dog and Cat (under the table)
• Landscape and window
• The Musician: An organic figure extending into a white spot, often depicted with an enraged face.
• The Woman: A silhouette atop the table.

These elements are collectively positioned around the theme of the lute player's toilet, creating a dance-like composition centered on a swirling motion.

While Sorgh's original painting transmits order, Miró's version conveys intense movement. This work features a naturalization of the domestic space, which appears invaded by rural elements and animals.

Style and Context: Joan Miró's Surrealism

Joan Miró is a representative figure of Surrealist painting. He paints primarily from memories and feelings, though he still utilizes preparatory drawings.

Miró differs from typical Surrealists because he actively seeks signs and symbols that later form his unique artistic vocabulary, characterized by simplicity, plain colors, and vitality.

Interpretation and Meaning

Content and Realism

Miró aimed for a form of realism where, despite the figures appearing strange, they still refer to a specific person or animal. Miró’s realism involves removing elements from the traditional artistic toolbox.

“I want to do something realistic, then remove and delete until you remove the cubism of his work.”

Function and Autonomy

The work was exhibited at the Gallery Bernh., confirming Miró's status as one of the most important artists of the moment.

Miró's Surrealism possesses great autonomy. He did not seek to dive into the deep unconscious, but rather to recover the innocence of a happy childhood.

He paid close attention to the art of the "non-educated" (children or the mentally ill), admiring their freedom and exuberance. He is highlighted as a key representative of Surrealist automatism.