Joan MIRO (after) - Characters and figures, 1949 - Lithograph with stencil

Stencil : The stencil is a printing technique made using a cover (in zinc for example) that prevents paint or ink from flowing. The stencil is then applied to the printed proof by etching, lithography, screen printing or phototyping. Many stencils must be traced and cut to obtain an accurate reproduction of the work.
Joan Miró : Spanish painter and sculptor born in Barcelona in 1893, He studies at Barcelona Fine Arts School from 1907 and entirely dedicated himself to painting since 1912. The artist asserts himself throw different mediums, painting, collage, lithography, etching, ceramic, sculpture on marble and bronze... Miró discovers cubism and fauvism in Paris where he lives in 1920 and meets up with Pablo Picasso, André Masson and dadaïst members, before he become a member of surrealism. He completes his series of "Constellations" (1940-1941) at Palma de Mallorca where he stays in 1956. In 1942, he comes back to Barcelona then to United States five years later and begins monumental painting ("Composition with ropes", 1950, Eindhoven). From years 1960, his paintings show a new space research, often monochrom ("Blue I, II, III", 1961). His latest works are monumental statues for Chicago (1981), Houston and Barcelona (1982). The artist died in Palma de Mallorca in 1983.