Women Dreaming of Escape

Between 1942 and 1944, during World War II when materials were scarce, Joan Miró worked solely on paper. This drawing, dated December 1, 1942, the artist prepared by rubbing pastel onto pulpboard in faint aureoles of color. This manner was reminiscent of his preparation of the earlier Constellations series of 1940 and 1941, which have crisply delineated biomorphic and cosmological forms in complex, all-over compositions. As he stated in his note-book, he wanted to “provoke accidents,” not “do pastels.” After rubbing pastel into the ground, he reacted to any “accidents” of its surface by carefully creating witty, dream-like drawings—here showing women, children, and an escape ladder, rendered in crayon.