Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder. Traditional formulas dry to a matte finish and can be reactivated with water.
Painter
Joan Miró
Joan Miró was a Spanish artist associated with Surrealism, known for biomorphic forms, symbolic imagery, vivid color, and abstract compositions across painting and printmaking.
Related: Pablo Picasso · Paul Klee
Joan Miró quick facts
Review key details about Joan Miró's life, career, Surrealist context, major periods, and the symbolic forms, color, and abstraction that shaped his practice.
| Born | April 20, 1893 · Barcelona, Spain |
|---|---|
| Died | December 25, 1983 · Palma, Mallorca, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Associated movement | Surrealism |
| Paint media | Gouache · Watercolor · Oil paint · Tempera |
| Other media | Ink, drawing, collage, printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture |
| Notable works and series | The Hunter (Catalan Landscape), The Birth of the World, Harlequin's Carnival, and the Constellations series |
Sources: The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA: The Escape Ladder, The Met: Painting (1927), and MoMA: The Beautiful Bird Revealing the Unknown to a Pair of Lovers.
Paint types used
See the paint types documented in Miró's work, with links to PaintZeal references explaining each medium's properties, uses, and working characteristics.
Watercolor Paint
Watercolor paint is a water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder. It is known for transparent color that settles into absorbent paper.
Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying paint made with pigment and a drying oil binder. It is widely used for artwork because it blends smoothly and develops rich color.
Tempera Paint
Traditional tempera is an artist paint made by combining pigment with an emulsion binder. Egg yolk is the best-known traditional binder, but the broader tempera category can include other emulsion recipes, so a museum record that says only “tempera” does not always identify the exact binder.
Surface types used
See the surface types documented in Miró's work, with links to PaintZeal references explaining how each support behaves and is prepared for painting.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support used for paintings, banners, bags, décor, and other projects. Artist canvas may be raw, sized, acrylic-primed, oil-primed, or factory-coated, and each condition changes how paint absorbs and bonds.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made primarily from cellulose fibers. Its weight, sizing, surface texture, and wet strength determine how much paint it can accept before buckling, pilling, bleeding, or warping.
Ceramic
Ceramic is a hard material made by shaping and firing clay or other minerals. Its surface may remain porous or be covered with a smooth, glass-like glaze.