Velles boges al manicomi (Crazy old women in the madhouse)

Giving visibility to suffering has been a recurrent concern throughout Antoni Miró’s career, and it has also been present from the very beginning, from the stage associated with the series we call “Opera Prima”. Madness, an illness that afflicts some and that many want to keep hidden, is the main theme of an early sub-series integrated into it, “Els Bojos”, of which this painting forms a part. However, it is not the only issue it refers to. Old age is also added to it, as is a denunciation of the means used by society to control this ailment. For the artist, the common way the disease is treated leads to an unbearable state of loneliness in the afflicted. Leading sometimes, through a clear abuse of power, to poor people with various problems other than mental ones being confined, with the excuse from their relatives that they will be better off.

The painter represents a gloomy scene, dominated by dark tones, ranging from deep blue to black, only counteracted by a small area with more vivid brushstrokes, between reddish and purplish. Three women are depicted in profile, sitting on benches, and another, appearing between them, is facing us. This fourth woman is the main character. The expression on her worn face and the hardness of her lost gaze are the key elements in the cruelty of the situation.

A certain representative elementality is added to a sober colour palette. The roughly shaped clothes are outlined with a dark edging. The turned away faces are simply sketched. Only the one seen front on assumes its full distinctive force. The face’s features, with its prominent wrinkles, are distorted, with a decidedly sad expression.

Santiago Pastor Vila