Joan Miró i Ferrà (April 20,1893 – December 25,1983) was a world renowned Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramist who was born in the sea port city of Barcelona. Joan Miro, a Spanish artist who studied in Paris, is best known for his whimsical abstracts. Many of his paintings combine lines and colors that create wonderful shapes that may or may not tell a story–depending on your perspective!
In the 1930s Miró designed ballet sets and worked on tapestries and murals. In 1937 he expressed his sorrow and horror at the suffering caused by the Spanish Civil War in his painting Still Life with Old Shoe and a mural, The Reaper, which was shown at the Paris World Exposition that year. Miró lived and worked in Spain during World War II. After the war his paintings, graphics, and ceramics achieved world renown. He continued working at his studio on Majorca. He died in Palma, Majorca, on Dec. 25, 1983.