Joan Miró produced this original color lithograph especially for Rafael Alberti's text 'Maravillas con Variaciones Acrósticas en el Jardín de Miró' (Wonders with Aristocratic Variations in Miró's Garden), being one of twenty-two lithographs in the illustrative series. This particular example is even more rare, as it is numbered VI/XV from the hand-signed portfolio on Rives paper (aside from the edition of 75 on Arches, the book edition of 315 and the further edition of 1500). 

The prints that Miró designed for books and publications should be understood as part of a long tradition, as artists have been doing so since the advent of printmaking techniques. Albrecht Dürer, for example, made multiple illustrations for the Bible in the fifteenth century, as did the majority of his contemporary printmakers. In the modern period, artists ranging from Wassily Kandinsky to Thomas Hart Benton have taken their hand to the book as a medium. Even more, many of the most celebrated images by artists like Winslow Homer were printed for illustrated journals ⁠— and only a few examples survive today because of the perceived disposability of the medium during the 19th century. The images Miró made for the catalogs of his own body of work and career offer an insight into how the artist understood his own biography and place in history. They are self-aware and carry with them the Surrealism of his early career, but also the sophistication and refinement of an artist who had been exploring and experimenting for decades. 

Original lithograph produced especially for: Rafael Alberti, Maravillas con Variaciones Acrósticas en el Jardín de Miró, Ediciones Polígrafa, S.A., Barcelona, 1975. Published in a separate portfolio of XV on Rives paper. 

Artwork Size: 19 7/8"x 28 1/2"
Frame Size: 31 3/8"x 40"

Overall excellent condition
Framed to conservation standards using archival materials including 100 percent rag matting, Museum Glass to inhibit fading, and housed in a bespoke closed-corner 24-karat gold gilded moulding with reverse-ogee profile and semi-distressed finish. 

Ref: Mourlot 1055.