On his return to Mont-roig from Paris in 1924, Miró discovered the landscapes that he had left unfinished the previous summer. He destroyed many of them but kept some that solely consisted of simple, schematic drawing. Strongly influenced by Nietzsche, whom he had discovered through his friend André Masson, in these simple paintings Miró saw the potential for overcoming the degeneration of painting (which he saw as a symptom and consequence of the decadence of modern man) and for embarking on a return to a primordial era prior to civilisation and history, in other words, a return to origins. Between 1924 and 1927 Miró painted a series of canvases in which the monochrome backgrounds seem to be the result of improvisation while the drawn lines (often written words) on these backgrounds arise from a slow process of poetic transformation. This period culminates in a series of six large-format landscapes of 1927. Despite their compositional simplicity, these monumental works still reveal an interest in narrative and myth. By challenging the empty space, defined by the horizon line, Miró constructed a setting that evokes a chosen moment, a sort of illumination that is both cosmic and intimate, comparable to this aspect of Rimbaud’s poetry or to the mythical tales of primitive cultures.
