Plate (folio 18) from Il était une petite pie (Once There Was a Little Magpie)

Plate (folio 18) from Il était une petite pie (Once There Was a Little Magpie) is a significant example of the Spanish modernist master, Joan Miró’s, engagement with print media and the livre d'artiste tradition. This specific image is one of eight striking pochoir plates created for the Illustrated Book, which was realized between 1927 and 1928 and subsequently published in 1928.

Miró’s decision to utilize the pochoir technique was crucial for this project. Pochoir, a highly refined stencil method, allowed the artist to apply broad, saturated fields of color with precise control, mimicking the flat density often found in his contemporary paintings. This technique perfectly suited the artist's evolving aesthetic, which moved away from Cubist structure toward a more fluid, internally-driven Surrealism. The image, while abstract, typically employs Miró’s iconic biomorphic shapes and sparse linear elements, suggesting figures, celestial motifs, or organic forms suspended against a neutral background.

The period of 1927–28 was vital to Miró’s career, marking the full emergence of his mature visual vocabulary where sign and symbol replaced direct representation. The publication Il était une petite pie stands as an early and important milestone in the history of modernist prints, demonstrating the successful collaboration between the visual arts and literature characteristic of the era. The complete Illustrated Book, being exceptionally rare, is considered a collector’s item and a foundational piece of Miró’s printmaking catalogue.

Today, this key piece of Spanish Modernism is preserved in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where it continues to serve as a reference point for studying Miró’s development in graphic arts. Works such as this are invaluable resources for understanding the intersection of Surrealism and publishing, and while the original is carefully housed, prints and reproductions of this work ensure its lasting influence on subsequent generations of artists.