In August 1939, one month before the outbreak of World War II, Miró moved with his wife to Varengeville in Normandy, France. During the Nazi occupation, Miró created a series of gouaches, the Constellations, on which this painting is based. André Breton described Miró's faces, stars, wings, lines, and crescents as "outside the world and outside time, too."
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Inscription: Signed (lower right): Miró; signed and dated (verso): Miró / 1949
the artist (1949–60; sale, "Pour Fréjus," Galerie Charpentier, Paris, January 8, 1960, no. 20, as "Femmes, oiseaux, étoile"); [Galerie Berggruen et Cie, Paris, 1960; sold in February 1960 to P. Matisse]; [Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1960; stock no. 4116; sold on April 8, 1960, with a de Stael painting, in partial exchange for a Pissarro painting, to Bright]; David E. Bright, Los Angeles (1960–d. 1965); his widow, Dolly Bright (later Mrs. Robert Carter), Los Angeles (1965–82; on consignment in April 1982 to Pierre Matisse Gallery, no. C577; sold on June 2, 1982, through P. Matisse, to Gelman); Jacques and Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1982–his d. 1986); Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1986–d. 1998; her bequest to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," December 12, 1989–April 1, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 229).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," April 19–July 15, 1990, unnumbered cat.
Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "De Matisse à Picasso: Collection Jacques et Natasha Gelman," June 18–November 1, 1994, unnumbered cat. (p. 253).
Mexico City. Centro Cultural Arte Contemporáneo. "Joan Miró, la Colección del Centro Georges Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne y otras colecciones," February 12–May 24, 1998, no. 34.
Vienna. Albertina. "Miró. From Earth to Sky," September 12, 2014–January 11, 2015, unnumbered cat. (p. 157; as "Painting [Woman, Birds, Star]").
"Paris Art Auction Aids Dam Victims: $221,400 Netted by Works Contributed by French and Other Artists." New York Times (January 9,1960), p. 13.
Paris-Match no. 563 (January 23, 1960), ill. (color).
Jacques Dupin. Joan Miró: Life and Work. New York, [1962], p. 556, no. 732, ill. p. 416, calls it "Painting" and dates it October 19, 1949.
Sabine Rewald inTwentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 228–29, 308, ill. (color and bw).
William S. Lieberman inTwentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, p. 14, fig. 3 (color, installation photo, Gelman apartment).
Jacques Dupin and Ariane Lelong-Mainaud. Joan Miró: Catalogue raisonné. Paintings. Vol. 3, 1942–1955. [Paris], 2001, p. 139, no. 836, ill. (color), as "Painting (Woman, Birds, Star)".
Jacques Dupin. Miró. [1st ed., 1993]. Paris, 2012, fig. 305 (color), as "Painting (Woman, Birds, Stars)".
Gisela Fischer inMiró. From Earth to Sky. Ed. Gisela Fischer and Jean-Louis Prat. Exh. cat., Albertina. Vienna, 2014, p. 137, 235, ill. p. 157 (color).
Joan Miró (Spanish, Barcelona 1893–1983 Palma de Mallorca)
1938
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
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.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
