Spanish, 1893-1983
Seated Woman and Child (Femme assise et enfant), 1967 Painted bronze, 48 1/4 x 16 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. (122.6 x 42.5 x 41.9 cm.)
Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Dallas, Texas
1979.A.03
Label Text
The chair, or stool, is a found object that appears in different guises in Miró's work between 1967 and 1969. Here it can be read either as a sturdy perch for an owl-like creature balanced on its top rung and keeping a watchful eye on its small red "baby" below, or as the torso of a woman. In the latter case, the flat plaque at the top becomes the woman's head and the egg-like baby now sits in her lap. In either interpretation, the playful analogies, bright colors and tactile play of molten, irregular form versus carved regularity all proclaim the most pleasurable of Surrealist strategies.