Joan Miró

A copy of Ubu Roi, signed by Miró.

• Joan Miró (Spanish).
• Text by Alfred Jarry.
• Paris: Teriade, 1966.
• Folio.
• 133 pages.
• Includes 13 lithographs printed in color by Miró, printed by Mourlot, on Arches wove paper.
• Part of a limited edition of 205.
• Signed by Miró in pencil on colophon.
• All loose as issued in the publisher’s printed wrappers, cream-colored chemise and matching slipcase.

This portfolio illustrates the play Ubu Roi by the French writer Alfred Jarry, that premiered in 1896 and was part of the genre of the Theatre of the Absurd, which thrilled the Surrealists and Dadaists. It was adopted not only by Miró but also by other artists such as Max Ernst and Man Ray. Miró chose to create 13 large, colorful double-page lithographs for his 1966 illustrations of the play, employing imagery that is characteristically biomorphic and humorous in keeping with themes of the play. The prints, however, are vividly colored and finished and are perhaps slightly more painterly than most of Miró's graphic work.