Joan Miró and Mallorca, where he found inspiration

Joan Miró i Ferrà was born on the 20^th April 1893 in Barcelona, son of watchmaker Miquel Miró i Adzeries and Dolors Ferrà i Oromí, daughter of a carpenter from Sóller (Mallorca). In 1912, at the age of 19, he decided to devote himself to painting and enrolled in Francesc Galí art school. That was when he was introduced to the latest European art trends.

In October 1929 he married Majorance Pilar Juncosa in Palma. The two went to Paris and settled in an apartment on rue François Mouton. Two years later, his only daughter, María Dolors, was born.

In the summer of 1939 he began a series of 23 paintings on small pieces of paper, later known as “Constellations”, which began in Normandy and ended in what would be his greatest place of inspiration, Mallorca.

In 1956, Miró moved permanently to Palma and had his dream workshop, designed by his friend Josep Lluís Sert, built there. Currently, this workshop is part of the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, which we recommend not skipping out on visiting their collection of over 6,000 works by the artist.  Furthermore, the gardens frequently host concerts and events. And since you’re in Palma, you can make the most of other museums that also house the artist’s works such as the Juan March Foundation or the Es Baluard museum.

In 1968, given his international projection, Miró was acclaimed as Doctor Honoris causa by Harvard University, while the city of Palma, naturally, named him their adoptive son.

One of his major projects was, as previously mentioned, creating the Pilar i Joan Miró Foundation in 1981 and inaugurated in 1992. It is a study centre for artists and scholars with a space for exhibitions and preservation of Miró collections and was commissioned by the architect Rafael Moneo.

The ingenuity of this artist so closely tied to our island came to an end on the 25^th December 1983 in Palma, leaving behind a great legacy that without a doubt deserves to be told.