‘Le baiser’ (‘The Kiss’) of 1924 is one of the earliest paintings in our exhibition and a testament to a crucial turning point in Miró’s career– a departure from the minute, detailed and tightly packed compositions of years prior towards the lyrical, dreamlike world of his so-called ‘oneiric paintings’ of 1925-27. A deep green (a particularly rare color in Miró’s work) becomes the backdrop for his experimentation and foray into abstraction. Arabesque lines, series of dots, and dabs of color make up a composition that is heavily abstracted but still referential, as its title suggests. Two teardrop forms meet; their point of encounter (‘the kiss’) symbolised by a red line. The waves emanating from the form on the right are a motif Miró often employed to signify the female figure. Miró captures an intimate moment between this couple, simplifying it while also dramatizing it, by isolating it on an entirely monochrome of deep green. ‘Le baiser’ was included in MoMA’s 1993 exhibition of Miró (image 3). It is now back in New York and currently on view in ‘Joan Miró: Feet on the Ground, Eyes on the Stars’ at our gallery in the Fuller Building - stop by to see these details in person! - Image 1: Detail, Joan Miro, ‘Le baiser’, 1924. Image 2: Joan Miró, ‘Le baiser’, 1924. Image 3: Installation view of Le baiser (far right) in Joan Miró, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, October 1993 – January 1994. #joanmiro #lebaiser #thekiss #painting #exhibition #moma #newyork #luxembourgco #fullerbuilding #surrealism