Monumental paintings: Joan Miró and the power of walls

Just like a child, Miró painted directly onto walls. Here, the artist can be seen in his studio "Son Boter" in Palma de Mallorca in 1967. He used a black carbon pencil for these walls. In 1937, Miró had already created a huge wall painting for the World Expo in Paris, together with Picasso.

Joan Miró (1893 - 1983) was constantly searching for new forms of expression and started exploring walls in his work. They inspired the artist to use unusual construction materials as a canvas, as he would reproduce raw textures of walls on white-washed canvas, coarse burlap, sandpaper or tarpaper.

"The Farm" is one of the early works of the Spanish artist Joan Miró. In this painting of his parents' home, created in 1921-22, he depicted in detail the walls of the stable, with all its stains, cracks and textures. He aimed to reproduce the materials as realistically as possible.

In the 1930s, Miró famously declared that he wanted to "kill painting," referring to the art's conventional traditions which he despised. He developed a pictorial language which opposed to the expectations of the bourgeoisie. In this painting, "Bleu I/II," the artist used the color blue in reference to the sky, as well as the walls of Catalan farm houses painted with blue copper vitriol.

Joan Miró's works typically bristle with bright colors. In stark contrast to his usually colorful paintings, however, he created this black-and-white triptych in 1973-74, which depicts a huge barren wall.

Aiming to expand pictorial space, Miró made his paintings look like wall surfaces. He often preferred long formats. His fascination with the wall also became apparent with his creation of monumental triptych works and late ceramic friezes. This painting, "Birds," is another large-scale work.

In the mid-1920s, Miró created paintings by sprinkling the canvas with color. He painted this work, "The Spanish Flag," in 1925. It features one of the artists' favorite symbols, the bird. The brown background aimed to reproduce a weathered wall.

"Painting (The Magic of Color)" is one of Miró's key works. In 1930, he painted two big spots in red and yellow which seem to be levitating on a white background. This white surface reminds of the walls of the simple farm houses near Barcelona, where Miró grew up.

Throughout his life, Joan Miró was committed to make his art freely accessible. In 1957, he created the "Moon Wall" and the "Sun Wall" for the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris, in which he once again incorporated the textures of walls. The exhibition "Joan Miró. Painting Walls, Painting Worlds" is shown in the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt from February 26 through June 12, 2016.