Passage de l'Egyptienne no 8. by Joàn Miró, 1893-1983

Joàn Miró, 1893-1983
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Passage de l'Egyptienne no 8.

Original etching with etching, aquatint and open-bite printed in colours. 1979. Signed in pencil. Inscribed in pencil as H.C.'A' - the first of 21 proof impressions. Total edition of 171, including proofs. Printed at the Atelier Morsang 1979. Signed at Palma de Majorca 1979. Issued in the series: Passage de l'Egyptienne, Dutrou, Paris 1985.
Ref: Cramer - Joàn Miro no 257 (viii)

Brilliant rich impression with sparkling colours. On pale cream special handmade japon nacré paper. Excellent fresh condition; never previously mounted or framed. Printed to the full sheet size. Sheet: 23 5/8 x 16 5/8ins. (600x422mm)

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The series of compositions under the title ‘Passage de l’Egyptienne’ which Miró etched in 1979 includes some of his most impressive and dramatic late period works in a graphic medium. The version above shows the richness of these works at their finest.

Much of the visual impact of these works lies in the way that Miró combined extremely rich textural qualities in the free sweeps of line - very deeply bitten so that it stands in relief on the sheet - with the smooth glowing density of the areas of bold colour. It was the way that such contrasts of surface and atmosphere could be created within a copperplate that was one of the factors that had fascinated Miró since his earliest etchings (see no 34 overleaf). Over the years he had exploited this essential element in the etching medium in differing ways, culminating, as here, with an incredibly powerful drama of scale and stroke.

Miró etched the ‘Passage de l’Egyptienne’ subjects in his studio at Palma de Majorca, printing the editions at the Atelier Morsang in 1979. They were to be amongst the last great intaglio prints that he drew, and they are a fitting end to the oeuvre of an etcher of lifelong genius.