Dog Barking at the Moon (Miró)
Dog Barking at the Moon is a painting by Spanish painter and sculptor Joan Miró. It was painted in 1926 in the town of Mont-roig del Camp, Catalonia. The painting was originally in the collection of Albert Eugene Gallatin before being bequeathed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1952, where it remains.
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| Artist | Joan Miró |
| Year | 1926 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 73 cm × 92.1 cm (29 in × 36.3 in) |
| Location | Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia |
Background
Dog Barking at the Moon was originally based on Miró's sketch of a Catalan folk tale which depicts a dog yelping "bow wow" at the moon while the moon looks down saying, "You know, I don't give a damn."[1]
Analysis
The painting presents a sparse, earthy brown landscape set against a black sky. However, Miró uses bright and playful colors to depict the distorted figure of a dog in the right foreground barking at the half moon and bird above it. In the left foreground, a ladder extends from the bottom of the painting before receding into the dark night sky. The vast, empty spaces in the painting create a sense of loneliness and isolation.[2] Michael R. Taylor observes that Dog Barking at the Moon reflects Miró's memories of his native Catalan landscape and writes that the painting "exemplifies [Miró's] sophisticated blend of pictorial wit and abstraction".[1]
This painting should not be confused with the similarly named Dog Barking at the Moon, a 1952 lithograph by the same artist in an edition of 80, with a copy in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.[3]
References
- "Dog Barking at the Moon". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- "Looking to Write, Writing to Look (Dog Barking at the Moon)". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- "Dog Barking at the Moon". MoMA. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
