Chien

While Joan Miró’s most recognizable works are paintings, his signature style is evident in this print. An abstracted dog, mouth open and ears thrust forward, appears in rich black lines against a white background with brightly colored circles. The etching was intended as an illustration for a book, which was never completed, with text by French avant-garde composer Erik Satie (1866-1925). Chien is a “proof,” an image made to check the artist’s progress as he created the metal plate that would transfer ink to paper. Printmaking allows an artist to create multiple copies of an image, making it an ideal medium for book illustration.