Art is the Solution

Horse, Pipe and Red Flower Source: Philadelphia Museum of Art When one considers Spanish art in the nineteenth century, three names probably come to mind: Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró. Although Miró is probably the least known of these three (outside of Spain anyway), I think his work is particularly important in that it captures something uniquely Spanish. Miró was from Barcelona, and his work is often associated with pride in the Catalan culture. In fact, Miró executed three separate pieces of civic art to welcome visitors to Barcelona during his career. Abstract art doesn’t often appeal to me, but I do have affection for Miró’s colorful and expressive work. In particular, Horse, Pipe and Red Flower has always appealed to me. The painting is one of Miró’s earlier pieces, created when his work was still quite figurative, as opposed to abstract. It depicts a table heaped with a jumble of items, including a pipe, a book, a flower, and a figurine of a horse. While the...