Joan Miro (1893-1983) - L'Issue dérobée

Joan Miró i Ferrà
L’Issue dérobée, 1974
Original etching executed in mixed technique — drypoint and aquatint in colors —, made in Paris in 1974 as part of the graphic project conceived by Joan Miró for L’Issue dérobée, with texts by the poet and art critic Jacques Dupin.
The work is signed in pencil by the artist in the lower right corner and justified “H.C.” —hors-commerce— in the lower left margin. It is one of the scarce off-press copies, belonging to a limited edition of only 20 H.C. proofs, a circumstance that significantly increases its rarity and appeal within Miró’s graphic market.
The composition constitutes a particularly refined expression of the language developed by the artist during his mature period. On a white and open space unfolds a complex architecture of black lines, ascending curves, arrows, stellar signs and small orbital shapes. These elements traverse the surface with apparent spontaneity, but respond to a carefully constructed visual balance.
The linear structure is articulated through broad enveloping strokes that cross horizontally the image and dialogue with a succession of chromatic cores of great intensity: bright yellow, earthy red, pink, orange and a deep dark green. In the lower zone, numerous splashes and green stains introduce an organic and atmospheric dimension, like a vegetal constellation that contrasts with the incisive precision of the black lines.
The drypoint provides the drawing with a direct and material vibration, especially visible in the irregular delicacy of the strokes, while the aquatint allows the creation of diffused, luminous, and suspended color fields over the paper. The result is an image of marked poetic freedom, in which Miró transforms elemental signs into an imagined universe populated by figures, stars and ascending movements.
Print on Vélin d’Arches paper, preserved uncut, with full margins and the original deckle edges visible.
Sheet measurements: 502 × 325 mm.
Framed measurements: 60 × 64 cm.
The condition is excellent. The work shows no foxing and preserves notable chromatic freshness, with intense and well-defined pigments. The paper maintains a uniform tone and good structural stability.
Work documented in Patrick Cramer, Catalogue raisonné des livres illustrés, p. 460, no. 187.
A piece of notable rarity and great graphic richness, representative of Miró’s most free, lyrical and experimental phase of the mid-1970s.