ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Awakening of the Giant (L'Éveil du Géant)

1938
Not on view
In 1938, Miró began experimenting with the printmaking techniques of etching, engraving, and drypoint. In these intaglio works, he expanded his visual language to reflect not only the possibilities offered by printmaking but also his tortured response both to the turmoil engulfing Spain and to the rise of fascism and likelihood of another world war. Two years earlier, in 1936, he and his family had fled to Paris in order to escape the Spanish Civil War. The atrocities plaguing his native country caused Miró great anguish, and his works from this period offer nightmarish visions filled with frightened animals, grotesque giants, and menacing figures, whose exaggerated teeth, fists, and snarling facial expressions convey terror and suffering. This example came to the Museum through a　bequest of William S. Lieberman.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Awakening of the Giant (L'Éveil du Géant)
  • Artist: Joan Miró (Spanish, Barcelona 1893–1983 Palma de Mallorca)
  • Printer: Atelier Lacouriere et Frelaut, Paris
  • Publisher: Pierre Loeb
  • Publisher: Pierre Matisse (American (born France), Bohain-en-Vermandois 1900–1989 Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat)
  • Date: 1938
  • Medium: Drypoint
  • Dimensions: plate: 10 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (26.8 x 23.5 cm) sheet: 17 3/8 x 12 3/4 in. (44.5 x 32.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
  • Object Number: 2007.49.577
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Book cover
Joan Miró
Untitled in Derriere le Miroir
Joan Miró
1956
Untitled in Derriere le Miroir
Joan Miró
1956
Seated Nude Holding a Flower, Joan Miró Spanish, Oil on canvas
Seated Nude Holding a Flower
Joan Miró
1917
Women and Bird in the Night, Joan Miró Spanish, Gouache on canvas
Women and Bird in the Night
Joan Miró
1944

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.