Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Louis Marcoussis Joan Miró. It dates from 1938 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled is a black‑and‑white print made in 1938 through a combination of drypoint and engraving techniques. The work is a collaborative effort between Louis Marcoussis and Joan Miró and is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Subject & Meaning
The image consists of a dense network of interlacing lines that form abstracted faces, stars, and bird‑like or human silhouettes. Scattered textual elements—"Cirque de Lyon" and "Lune de mélancolie"—appear in the lower corner, suggesting references to a circus and a melancholy moon, while the overall composition conveys a sense of swirling motion and falling energy.
Technique & Style
Marcoussis and Miró employed drypoint, incising lines directly into a metal plate, alongside traditional engraving, which allows for finer, more controlled marks. The juxtaposition of hurried, sketchy strokes with meticulously rendered forms, such as a prominent black circle near the bottom right, highlights the artists' contrasting approaches within a single print.
History & Provenance
Created during the late 1930s, a period marked by political tension in Europe, the print entered the Museum of Modern Art’s collection sometime after its production. Its acquisition reflects MoMA’s interest in avant‑garde printmaking and the cross‑cultural dialogue between French and Spanish modernists.
Context
The collaboration merges Marcoussis’s background in Cubist and Surrealist circles with Miró’s signature biomorphic language. The inclusion of circus and lunar motifs aligns with contemporary fascination with popular entertainment and nocturnal symbolism, themes that resonated in pre‑war European art.
Artist & collection
