“Ma de Proverbis”
14.75″ h x 21.5″ w, lithograph (signed in plate) (c. 1970)
My dad bought this print by the famous Spanish surrealist at an art auction in the 1980s. He said it was neither an original (couldn’t afford that) nor a reproduction, and tracking down its exact identity was a bit of a challenge (there appear to be many different versions of this print). My best guess–and it is a guess–is that this was part of an edition of 1500 printed for a book of the same name by Japanese poet Shuzo Takiguchi, since of all the versions I’ve seen this one seems to match up to what I have most closely.
I have it hung directly across the hall from Halim Flowers’ “Audacity to Love”, as I think Miró’s abstract style pairs well with similarly surreal stick figures and eyes in Flowers’ work. A friend said that the images reminded her of the Minions from Despicable Me, and now I can’t stop seeing it–fortunately, for me at least it adds another dimension to the print (I think Minions are adorable).
David Schraub 