Currently indexing
Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird-Dragonfly Omen of Bad News
Artist: Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983)
Date: 1938
Dimensions:
31 1/2 x 10 ft., 4 in. (80 x 3.2 cm)
Medium: oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1986.25
Label Text:Known for his surreal, fanciful images that express the subconscious, Joan Miró here depicted three typically imaginative, interlocking figures that together create a powerful image of aggression and fear.
On the back of this canvas is the dedication “pour Jacky [Jackie], Peter, et Pauley Matisse”—the names of the three children of Miró’s dealer, Pierre Matisse (son of artist Henri Matisse). It was originally displayed in their nursery, despite its nightmarish imagery. Therefore, for many years this painting was exhibited as a “nursery decoration.” When Miró saw the painting again in New York in 1959 he revealed its real title, Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird-Dragonfly Omen of Bad News. The work was painted after the signing of the Munich Agreement, in which European leaders attempted to appease Adolph Hitler and avoid the outbreak of World War II (1939–45). Miró has graphically illustrated the pervading sense of conflict and confusion.
Of his works from this period, Miró remarked, “They swarm with oppositions, conflicts, contrasts. I call them my ‘savage paintings.’ Thinking about death led me to create monsters that both attracted and repelled me.”
On the back of this canvas is the dedication “pour Jacky [Jackie], Peter, et Pauley Matisse”—the names of the three children of Miró’s dealer, Pierre Matisse (son of artist Henri Matisse). It was originally displayed in their nursery, despite its nightmarish imagery. Therefore, for many years this painting was exhibited as a “nursery decoration.” When Miró saw the painting again in New York in 1959 he revealed its real title, Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird-Dragonfly Omen of Bad News. The work was painted after the signing of the Munich Agreement, in which European leaders attempted to appease Adolph Hitler and avoid the outbreak of World War II (1939–45). Miró has graphically illustrated the pervading sense of conflict and confusion.
Of his works from this period, Miró remarked, “They swarm with oppositions, conflicts, contrasts. I call them my ‘savage paintings.’ Thinking about death led me to create monsters that both attracted and repelled me.”
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