Miro

by Walter Erben

THIS BOOK ON MIRO IS A FINE EXAMPLE OF A SUCCESSFUL BOOK ON AN ARTIST. HIMSELF A PAINTER AND WRITER, THE AUTHOR WALTER ERBEN SUCCEEDED IN ENGAGING HIS GREAT "COLLEAGUE" IN NUMEROUS PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS AT THE ARTIST'S HOUSE IN MALLORCA. IN THESE TALKS MIRO GAVE ERBEN MANY INTERESTING AND INVALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO HIS ART, AS WELL AS HIS OWN INTERPRETATIONS OF HIS MOST SIGNIFICANT WORKS. THE LAST CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY HAJO DUCHTING, AN ART HISTORIAN AND PAINTER, WHO WAS BORN IN DUSSELDORF IN 1949 AND CURRENTLY LECTURES IN THE HISTORY OF ART AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH. HE HAS SUPPLEMENTED ERBEN'S TEXT WITH A CHAPTER ON MIRO'S LATER LIFE AS WELL AS NUMEROUS INTERPRETATIONS OF A SELECTED NUMBER OF WORKS.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Caroline]

I didn’t actually read this because it is written in Spanish, but I want to share that the reproductions appear to be excellent. I don’t have any original in front of me to check on the color fidelity, but it feels right. And the textures of paint and canvas are first-rate.

I found it interesting that once Miro worked through experimenting with the emerging movements of the 1910s and early 1920s, he settled on a few techniques and subjects that he kept investigating for the next fifty years. Yet he made them interesting with every repetition.

[That70sheidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book, because the narration is so damn personal and rambling and inconsequential. It started off fairly unique - the author actually seeking out the artist to meld into his life to write a definitive work. But then it devolved into a lengthy and boring (incredibly boring) visit to one of Miro's friends, a hat maker, and all kinds of crap about hats.

The pictures were lovely and the sidebars associated with the pictures were almost the only mention of the actual individual works in the text - the story was all about Erben's experience with Miro.

On the one hand, learning more about Miro's life and stories of his work would be good, but on the other hand, if I had had more time to devote to the book and wasn't so impatient for the author to get to the point, I probably would have enjoyed the text much more and given it a higher rating. As it was, I got fed up with hats and began flipping and reading the side bars.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

no es el q me he leído pero bueno es q no estaba en Goodreads

[Noran Miss Pumkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great review of Miro's work in various media. I have found Taschen always an excellent source for art books without failure over the decades, though my wallet sometimes cannot afford them.
for a Miro lover , this is a most have.