Miró probably printed this image of rustics at play on a typical picnic cloth of red gingham as a decorative joke.
Miró has said it’s never easy for him to talk about his art. In a letter to Pierre Matisse, however, he explains that he is drawn to his objects by some “magnetic force” that creates “a poetic shock.” (1936). Elsewhere, Miró explains to Gerald Cramer, his publisher, that each of his scribbles is “a point of departure, a shock. I attach great importance to the initial shock.” (1949)
Let’s hope that The Rustics was created out of a “shock” that was pleasurable and fulfilling. But there is no sign of food or drink.
See Margit Rowell, Rowell, Margit, ed. Joan Miró: Selected Writings and Interviews. Translations by Paul Auster and Patricia Mathews. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992.
Featured Image: Joan Miró. The Rustics (1969) lithograph on red and white checked cloth, laid down on Chiffon de Mandeure.