Portrait II 1938

This is Joan Miró’s Portrait II. Just look at that blue! I can imagine Miró layering and layering, pushing the oil paint into the canvas until the surface achieved this incredible depth. I see a face made of simple shapes—a white form on top that could be a head, with little hints of pink, like flushed cheeks. Then this odd sprout with a green dot and a pinkish V-shape—totally mysterious! Below, it becomes clearer. Another rounded form, a half-circle, sectioned off into colors, like a pie chart of the soul. Miró is in conversation with painters like Matisse and Picasso, but he’s really doing his own thing. He simplifies forms to their essence, playing with abstraction while hinting at representation. It’s like he’s inviting us to decode his own personal language. That single black line connecting the top and bottom forms? It’s a thread of connection, or maybe a tightrope.