This exquisite lithograph after Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the album Trace sur l'eau (Trace on the Water), originates from the 1963 edition published by Maeght Editeur, Paris; printed by Maeght Editeur, Paris, June 7, 1963. Sans titre reflects Miro’s lyrical abstraction, where fluid line and biomorphic form evoke a poetic universe suspended between spontaneity and refined compositional balance.
Executed as a lithograph on Onion Skin du Marais paper, this work measures 11.5 x 14 inches, overall; 8.5 x 10.75 inches, image (29.21 x 35.56 cm; image 21.59 x 27.31 cm). Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The impression exemplifies the technical excellence and material sensitivity characteristic of Maeght’s celebrated editions.
Artwork Details:
Artist: After Joan Miro (1893–1983)
Title: Sans titre (Untitled), from Trace sur l'eau (Trace on the Water)
Medium: Lithograph on Onion Skin du Marais paper
Dimensions: 11.5 x 14 inches, overall; 8.5 x 10.75 inches, image (29.21 x 35.56 cm; image 21.59 x 27.31 cm)
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1963
Publisher: Maeght Editeur, Paris
Printer: Maeght Editeur, Paris
Catalogue Raisonne: Cramer, Patrick, and Joan Miro. Joan Miro, Catalogue Raisonne des Livres Illustres. P. Cramer, 1989, illustration 82; Miro, Joan. Joan Miro, Lithographe II, 1953–1963. Preface by Raymond Queneau. Maeght, 1975, illustration 314
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From the album Trace sur l'eau, published 1963
Notes:
Excerpted from the album (translated from French), The cover of this album is an original lithograph by Joan Miro. The watercolors were rendered on Onion Skin du Marais in the workshops of Maeght Editeur. The C head examples on velin de Rives, numbered from I to C and signed by Joan Miro contain an original double-page etching. Finished printing on June 7, 1963.
About the Publication:
Trace sur l'eau (Trace on the Water), published in Paris in 1963 by Maeght Editeur, represents a distinguished mid twentieth century French art edition that united poetic text and modern graphic innovation. Issued by the renowned Maeght publishing house, the album reflects the atelier’s commitment to technical refinement, high quality materials, and close collaboration with leading modern artists. The integration of lithography and watercolor rendering on Onion Skin du Marais demonstrates the elevated production standards associated with Maeght’s editions during the postwar period. As part of the broader program that positioned Maeght at the center of European modernism, the publication stands as a significant example of the fusion of poetry, abstraction, and printmaking that defined the era.
About the Artist:
Joan Miro (1893–1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist whose imaginative, dreamlike vision helped spearhead the Surrealist movement and left an indelible mark on modern art. Born in Barcelona and deeply rooted in Catalan culture, Miro moved to Paris in the early 1920s where his playful shapes, cosmic motifs, and childlike yet sophisticated abstractions broke new ground alongside the great innovators of his time. His artistic dialogue aligned with contemporaries such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, Georges Braque, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, each of whom challenged the conventions of form, color, and symbolism. Miro distilled these ideas into a uniquely poetic visual vocabulary—birds, stars, and bold spectral forms emerging from flat planes of color—that has inspired scores of artists and continues to influence modern and contemporary masters including Banksy, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns. His works are represented in leading museums worldwide, including MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou, and remain highly sought after by collectors. The highest price ever paid for a Joan Miro artwork is approximately $37.06 million USD, achieved in June 2012 at Sotheby's London for Peinture (Etoile Bleue) (1927).
Joan Miro Sans titre Untitled Trace sur l'eau 1963 lithograph Maeght Editeur Modernism.
