Art Funded by you

Maternité (Maternity)

Joan Miró, 1924

This is one of the first great masterpieces of Miró's early maturity. The work depicts an ideogram of a woman suspended in a void - in short, maternity at its most universal. She wears a flared, black skirt perforated by a hole, a reference to her procreative powers. To either side are her breasts, each of them with one of her offspring. Swimming across the picture is a sperm-like shape - the only other thing that is needed in this witty exploration of the realm of human reproduction.
Joan Miró, Maternité (Maternity), 1924, National Galleries of Scotland, Art Funded 1992
DACS © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London

This is one of the first great masterpieces of Miró's early maturity.

The work depicts an ideogram of a woman suspended in a void - in short, maternity at its most universal. She wears a flared, black skirt perforated by a hole, a reference to her procreative powers. To either side are her breasts, each of them with one of her offspring. Swimming across the picture is a sperm-like shape - the only other thing that is needed in this witty exploration of the realm of human reproduction.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Maternité (Maternity), 1924

Date supported

1992

Medium and material

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

92.1 x 73.1 cm

Grant

100000

Total cost

1750000

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