Flame in Space and Female Nude, 1932 by Joan Miro

During the summer of 1932, in Montroig, Miro painted a number of small pictures on wood. They give the impression of being very abstract and use large colourful overlapping areas in which a few sparingly placed symbols enable the viewer to establish a vague relationship between pictures and tides.

The space of the picture, broken up into two-dimensional areas, has been occupied by a single large yellow shape, with a number of smaller, red ones attached to it. The tiny mouth on the left is open, as if giving a scream, and tilted backwards in a dancing movement. A little red flame hovers before the intense green surface. As in other paintings, there seems to be an element of subliminal erotic symbolism that complements the powerful colour scheme.