The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (317 page)
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Authors: Ian Chilvers
Mino da Fiesole
(1429–84).
Florentine sculptor. According to
Vasari
he was a pupil of
Desiderio de Settignano
, but this has been doubted, as Desiderio was about the same age—possibly a year or so younger. Mino is remembered mainly for his portrait busts. Whereas Desiderio's are all of women, Mino's are almost all of men; the earliest—that of Piero de
Medici
(Bargello, Florence, 1453) is the first dated portrait bust of the
Renaissance
. Mino also worked as a tomb sculptor, but much of his work in this field has been altered or destroyed or is of uncertain attribution because he collaborated with other sculptors. The one that most clearly shows his own workmanship is that of Count Hugo of Tuscany (Badia, Florence, completed 1481), which Vasari describes as ‘the most beautiful work that he ever produced’. Mino had three documented stays in Rome (1454, 1463, and 1474–80) and also worked briefly in Naples (1455). His reputation was at its height in the 19th cent., when his delicate carving of marble was much admired.
Florentine sculptor. According to
Vasari
he was a pupil of
Desiderio de Settignano
, but this has been doubted, as Desiderio was about the same age—possibly a year or so younger. Mino is remembered mainly for his portrait busts. Whereas Desiderio's are all of women, Mino's are almost all of men; the earliest—that of Piero de
Medici
(Bargello, Florence, 1453) is the first dated portrait bust of the
Renaissance
. Mino also worked as a tomb sculptor, but much of his work in this field has been altered or destroyed or is of uncertain attribution because he collaborated with other sculptors. The one that most clearly shows his own workmanship is that of Count Hugo of Tuscany (Badia, Florence, completed 1481), which Vasari describes as ‘the most beautiful work that he ever produced’. Mino had three documented stays in Rome (1454, 1463, and 1474–80) and also worked briefly in Naples (1455). His reputation was at its height in the 19th cent., when his delicate carving of marble was much admired.
Minton , John
(1917–57).
British painter, graphic artist, and designer. In 1938–9 he spent a year in Paris, where he shared a studio with Michael
Ayrton
. Among the artists whose work he saw in Paris, he was particularly influenced by the brooding sadness of
Berman
and
Tchelitchew
. From 1943 to 1946 he had a studio in London at 77 Bedford Gardens (the house in which
Colquhoun
and MacBryde lived) and from 1946 to 1952 he lived with Keith
Vaughan
. Minton was a leading exponent of
Neo-Romanticism
and an influential figure through his teaching at Camberwell School of Art (1943–7), the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1947–8), and the
Royal College of Art
(1948–56). He was extremely energetic, travelling widely and producing a large body of work as a painter (of portraits, landscapes, and figure compositions), book illustrator, and designer. After about 1950, however, his work went increasingly out of fashion. He made an effort to keep up with the times with subjects such as
The Death of James Dean
(Tate Gallery, London, 1957), but stylistically he changed little. He committed suicide with an overdose of drugs.
British painter, graphic artist, and designer. In 1938–9 he spent a year in Paris, where he shared a studio with Michael
Ayrton
. Among the artists whose work he saw in Paris, he was particularly influenced by the brooding sadness of
Berman
and
Tchelitchew
. From 1943 to 1946 he had a studio in London at 77 Bedford Gardens (the house in which
Colquhoun
and MacBryde lived) and from 1946 to 1952 he lived with Keith
Vaughan
. Minton was a leading exponent of
Neo-Romanticism
and an influential figure through his teaching at Camberwell School of Art (1943–7), the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1947–8), and the
Royal College of Art
(1948–56). He was extremely energetic, travelling widely and producing a large body of work as a painter (of portraits, landscapes, and figure compositions), book illustrator, and designer. After about 1950, however, his work went increasingly out of fashion. He made an effort to keep up with the times with subjects such as
The Death of James Dean
(Tate Gallery, London, 1957), but stylistically he changed little. He committed suicide with an overdose of drugs.
Mir Iskusstva
.
.
Miró , Joan
(1893–1983).
Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer. He first visited Paris in 1919 and from then until 1936 (when the Spanish Civil War began) his regular pattern was to spend the winter in Paris and the summer at his family's farm near Barcelona. His early work shows the influence of various modern movements—
Fauvism
,
Cubism
(he was a friend of Pablo
Picasso
), and
Dadaism
—but he is particularly associated with the
Surrealists
, whose first manifesto he signed in 1924. Throughout his life, whether his work was purely abstract or whether it retained figurative suggestions, Miró remained true to the basic Surrealist principle of releasing the creative forces of the subconscious mind from the control of logic and reason. However, even though André
Breton
wrote that he was ‘probably the most Surrealistic of us all’, Miró stood apart from the other members of the movement in the variety, geniality, and lack of attitudinizing in his work, which shows none of the superficial devices beloved of other Surrealists. One of the works in which he first displayed an unmistakable personal vision is
Harlequin's Carnival
(Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1924–5), featuring a bizarre assembly of insect-like creatures dancing and making music—a scene inspired by ‘my hallucinations brought on by hunger’. Much of his work has the delightful quality of playfulness seen in this picture, but he was inspired to much more sombre and even savage imagery by the Spanish Civil War, during which he designed propaganda posters for the Republicans fighting against Franco.
Miró settled in Paris in 1936 because of the Civil War, but in 1940 he returned to Spain to escape the German occupation of France and thereafter lived mainly on the island of Majorca. It was from about this time that he began to achieve international recognition. For the rest of his long life he worked with great energy in a wide variety of fields. In 1944 he began making ceramics and slightly later he took up sculpture, initially small terracottas but eventually large-scale pieces for casting in bronze. He visited the USA for the first time in 1947 and did a large mural for the Terrace Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. This fulfilled his desire to communicate with a large public, and several of his major works of the 1950s were in a similar vein: a mural for Harvard University in 1950 (now replaced by a ceramic copy; the original is in MOMA, New York) and two vast ceramic wall decorations,
Wall of the Sun and Wall of the Moon
(installed 1958), for the Unesco Building in Paris. Another aspect of his desire to make his art widely accessible is his productivity as a printmaker (etchings and lithographs). He continued to explore new techniques into his old age, taking up stained-glass design when he was in his eighties. In spite of the world-wide fame he acquired he was a modest, retiring character, utterly devoted to his work, and in one of his rare public statements he criticized Picasso for what seemed to him like a mania for publicity. The Foundation Joan Miró was opened in 1975 on the heights of Montjuic overlooking Barcelona. It is designed both as a memorial museum housing a collection of Miró's works and as a centre of artistic activity.
Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer. He first visited Paris in 1919 and from then until 1936 (when the Spanish Civil War began) his regular pattern was to spend the winter in Paris and the summer at his family's farm near Barcelona. His early work shows the influence of various modern movements—
Fauvism
,
Cubism
(he was a friend of Pablo
Picasso
), and
Dadaism
—but he is particularly associated with the
Surrealists
, whose first manifesto he signed in 1924. Throughout his life, whether his work was purely abstract or whether it retained figurative suggestions, Miró remained true to the basic Surrealist principle of releasing the creative forces of the subconscious mind from the control of logic and reason. However, even though André
Breton
wrote that he was ‘probably the most Surrealistic of us all’, Miró stood apart from the other members of the movement in the variety, geniality, and lack of attitudinizing in his work, which shows none of the superficial devices beloved of other Surrealists. One of the works in which he first displayed an unmistakable personal vision is
Harlequin's Carnival
(Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1924–5), featuring a bizarre assembly of insect-like creatures dancing and making music—a scene inspired by ‘my hallucinations brought on by hunger’. Much of his work has the delightful quality of playfulness seen in this picture, but he was inspired to much more sombre and even savage imagery by the Spanish Civil War, during which he designed propaganda posters for the Republicans fighting against Franco.
Miró settled in Paris in 1936 because of the Civil War, but in 1940 he returned to Spain to escape the German occupation of France and thereafter lived mainly on the island of Majorca. It was from about this time that he began to achieve international recognition. For the rest of his long life he worked with great energy in a wide variety of fields. In 1944 he began making ceramics and slightly later he took up sculpture, initially small terracottas but eventually large-scale pieces for casting in bronze. He visited the USA for the first time in 1947 and did a large mural for the Terrace Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. This fulfilled his desire to communicate with a large public, and several of his major works of the 1950s were in a similar vein: a mural for Harvard University in 1950 (now replaced by a ceramic copy; the original is in MOMA, New York) and two vast ceramic wall decorations,
Wall of the Sun and Wall of the Moon
(installed 1958), for the Unesco Building in Paris. Another aspect of his desire to make his art widely accessible is his productivity as a printmaker (etchings and lithographs). He continued to explore new techniques into his old age, taking up stained-glass design when he was in his eighties. In spite of the world-wide fame he acquired he was a modest, retiring character, utterly devoted to his work, and in one of his rare public statements he criticized Picasso for what seemed to him like a mania for publicity. The Foundation Joan Miró was opened in 1975 on the heights of Montjuic overlooking Barcelona. It is designed both as a memorial museum housing a collection of Miró's works and as a centre of artistic activity.
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