32
PARTISAN REVIEW
Miro and the Spanish Civil War
LAST
YEAR,
for the first time, it appeared that there may be some
relation between liberalism in politics and what might be termed
"radicalism" in the plastic arts. Early in 1937 the liberal-radical gov-
ernments of Spain and France gave official recognition-and support in
more tangible ways as well-to such aesthetic revolutionaries as Picasso,
Mir6, and Leger. The advent of the Blum ministry caused an extra-
ordinary change in the temper of French art commissions, those tradi-
tional enemies of all that is living in art. And the Spanish government,
in the midst of its fight for life, has given important commissions to
such artists-hitherto unknown in their native land-as Gonzales,
Picasso, and Mir6.
Picasso and Gonzales have lived for many years in the vicinity of
Paris, but Mir6 has always remained in contact with his countrymen.
He has done most of his best work in Catalonia. The selection of Mira,
therefore, to execute commissions for the Spanish government is the most
appropriate choice of all, and is likely to prove the most fruitful. The
war in Spain, especially since it involves also a bitter class struggle, has
had disturbing repercussions on Mir6's development-at
once stimulating
and confusing. The shocks¥" have been accentuated because Mir6 lacks
the sophistication of the other famous Spaniards. The recent work of
Picasso, for example, suggests that perhaps his sensibility has been
calloused by the many reversals, the swift and acrobatic changes of
style which have marked his career in painting. His sincerity in pub-
licizing the cause of Loyalist Spain cannot be questioned, but neither
can it be said that he has been able to give mordant or convincing ex-
pression to his feelings. In his recent paintings on Civil War themes,
the aesthetic impact seems to be bogged in a morass of mannerisms.
Mir6, on the other hand, has been able to put on canvas in a much
more satisfying way his reactions to the war. This might have been
foreseen, for he is less the intellectual constructor, more the commen-
tator upon his inward vision. Above all, his interpretations are un-
mannered. There is none of the aggressive showmanship with which
Picasso is accustomed to startle and insult his audiences, before sub·
duing them with an unapproachable grandeur of style.
Mir6's development has been the logical result of the influences
which have crowded upon him. He commenced with that dry sharpness
of vision which must haunt the air of Northern Spain, which produced
Zurbaran, Juan Gris, and the anonymous Catalonian frescoes. Later, as
he came in contact with Arp and the Dadaists, who opened up the field
*
Since this writing, we have learned that Mir6's brother-in-law has been shot
by a fascist firing.squad.
