Le courtisan grotesque

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Le courtisan grotesque

Artist Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983)

Publisher Le degré quarante et un, Paris, 1974 (Iliazd)

Printer etchings: Atelier Lacourière & Frélaut, Paris; text: l’Imprimerie Union, Paris (Louis Barnier)

Author Adrien de Montluc (comte de Cramail) (French, 1589-1646)

Date1974

DimensionsSlipcase: H: 18 1/8 in. (461 mm); W: 13 3/8 in. (340 mm); Depth: 2 1/4 in. (57 mm).
Chemise: H: 17 7/8 in. (454 mm); W: 13 1/4 in. (337 mm); Depth: 1 7/8 in. (48 mm).
Cover: H: 17 1/4 in. (438 mm); W: 13 in. (330 mm); Depth: 1 1/2 in. (38 mm).
Book: H: 17 1/8 in. (435 mm); W: 12 1/2 in. (318 mm); Depth: 1 1/8 in. (29 mm).
Page: H: 16 9/16 in. (420 mm); W: 11 9/16 in. (293 mm).

MediumOriginal prints: 16 mixed etchings, some with aquatint and drypoint in colors, incl. wrapper. Text: letterpress (typeface: Gill Sans capitals). Paper: Richard de Bas Auvergne cream wove paper, watermarked.

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.806

Not on View

Label TextType design was of extreme importance to designer and publisher Iliazd, and he often spent hours laying out each page. For this text by an obscure 17th-century satirical writer, Iliazd imaginatively turned some of the letters on their sides, orienting words both horizontally and vertically. This made reading the text an aesthetic game. Iliazd proposed the project to Joan Miró in 1951, and Miró enthusiastically agreed to illustrate it. But by 1961, Miró still had not completed any of the color etchings. Iliazd wrote him, saying, “…Here it is ten years that I have waited for you to execute your ten plates…. I believe, dear Miró, that we are at the end of the road. It is impossible to prolong this waiting without facing the risk that our Courtisan grotesque will never appear.” The book, Iliazd’s last, was finally published in 1974. All ended well between publisher and artist. Iliazd wrote to Miró, “It has taken fourteen years, but the papers held up well and so did we.”Published Referencescf. Isselbacher, Audrey, Iliazd and the Illustrated Book, New York, 1987, no. 17

cf. Cramer, Patrick, ed., Joan Miró, The Illustrated Books: Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1989, no. 182, col. reprs.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Splendid Pages: The Molly and Walter Bareiss Collection of Modern Illustrated Books, Feb. 14--May 11, 2003.

Toledo Museum of Art, Color Across the Spectrum, May 13-July 30, 2017.