La Melodie Acide (I) by Joan Miro
Lithograph on Paper - 10W x 13H Inches

'Melodie Acide' (Acid Melody, 1980) is reproduced in the catalogue raisonné as a series of 14 Lithographs. A motif which varies within a theme. If you look closely, you will see the figures dancing, hear singing, music, and all etched into stone! We know that Miró was very fond of the musical instruments of the Balearic Islands, small ceramic whistles in the form of figurines. One could almost believe something of them was cast into 'Melodie Acide' through a spell. It chimes and sings and dances.

Typically, a single form provides the leading tone throughout the series, transforming itself in each print. A loosening of stricter structures is carried out through swabs and scribbling, curlicue lines. The print technique appears so original in its fine material qualities that its as if the artist had gone over the print once again, after printing, with a pencil. A rather small format with a great deal of charm. 'Acide' refers to the applied technique of lithography, since it is the acid sinking into the plate which gives the colors form and makes them harmonize. And that is the melody. Printed by La Polígrafa, Barcelona, 1980.