El melic (The navel)

Antoni Miró ends the “Vivace” series with a sub-series titled “Some Nudes”, in which he returns to the representation of the female figure. These nudes are set against a deep blue background. The paintings are reminiscent of drawings, with linear strokes allowing volumetric reconstruction. In fact, the artist is emulating some beautiful ‘Nature notes’ made at the beginning of his career.

Those earlier drawings are produced on a larger scale, thanks to long, clean lines (usually in white). In addition to the bordering lines delineating the figure, there are also some interior or posterior details set in the background, which are painted in red. These are singular points used to name each work. In all of these works, the background covers the whole canvas. It is blue with a slightly purplish tinge and it is not wholly smooth, revealing brush strokes in some areas to boost the contrast. Sometimes there are areas covered with special pigments or with rusty metal.

In this particular case a female nude is outlined with thick winding white brush strokes over a blue background. The volumes are clearly moulded from the apparent perimeter, from the thighs to the head. The face is, however, hidden behind the woman’s right hand. She seems to be shunning the light or avoiding the viewer’s gaze.

There are two flashes of contrasting red that highlight the woman’s lips and navel. The latter, which provides the name of the work, hints with a subtle line at the contact point with the mother, with the beginning of everything.

The position of the figure inside the canvas, with free space above but trimmed below and on the sides, reveals the proximity the artist seeks between viewer and subject, in what seems a veiled reference to either a recent or imminent erotic contact that celebrates life.

Santiago Pastor Vila