Terraced Village facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Terraced Village
Artist	Joaquim Mir
Year	circa 1909
Medium	Oil on canvas
Subject	Village of Maspuljos
Dimensions	121 cm × 164 cm (48 in × 65 in)
Condition	Good
Location	Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona
Website	http://www.museunacional.cat/en/colleccio/terraced-village/joaquim-mir/004633-000

Terraced Village is a famous painting by Joaquim Mir. You can see it today at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona. It shows a beautiful view of a village called Mapujols in Spain.

About the Artist: Joaquim Mir

Joaquim Mir was a Spanish artist from Catalonia. He is known for his unique style, which mixed Impressionism and modern art. When he first started painting, he focused on everyday life and social topics. However, he became most famous for his amazing landscape paintings.

For a while, his uncle helped him. In return, Mir created decorations, murals, and even stained glass windows for his uncle's home, called Casa Trinxet.

His first art show was in Barcelona in 1901. Critics liked his work, but the public found it a bit hard to understand at first.

Around 1905, Mir had an accident and needed to rest at a special institute. After he left, he moved to the Camp de Tarragona area with his family. During this time, he painted many more landscapes. His art started to become very popular, and people began to appreciate his special way of seeing nature.

Later, in 1921, he settled down in a town called Vilanova I la Geltru. Mir received important awards for his art. He won a top medal at the Barcelona International Exposition in 1929. Then, in 1930, he got the medal of honor at the National Exhibition of Madrid. These awards showed that his work was officially recognized as important. Joaquim Mir passed away in 1940.

Joaquim Mir, the artist

How Terraced Village Was Created

Terraced Village, also known as Poble Escalnot, shows the village of Mapujols in the Tarragona province. Mir painted it between 1906 and 1909. This was during his "Camp de Tarragona years" (1905–1913), after his time recovering.

His landscape paintings from this period are his most famous. People sometimes said he "lost himself in light and color." This means he painted nature in a very intense and personal way. He wanted to show a vision of nature that no one had ever seen before.

What You See in the Painting

Mir used bright, pure colors in Terraced Village. These colors show his strong feelings and how he saw the world. He had a special way of painting landscapes. He was great at showing dazzling light and atmosphere. He used bold, bright colors in unique patches, blending them together beautifully.

Many of his landscape paintings from 1905 to 1913 use these same vibrant colors. They show how he saw the world around him. In Terraced Village, the village is in the background. Nature takes center stage in the front of the picture. Your eyes are drawn to the bursts of color. The artist made the scene look very imaginative. Mir used different shades of light and dark. This makes the painting feel lively and pulls your attention to different parts of the artwork.

Materials and Techniques

Terraced Village is an oil painting on canvas. When artists paint with oil, they often start by sketching their idea on the canvas. Oil paints can be mixed with things like linseed oil to change how thick or thin they are. Artists often made their own paint colors back then. This allowed Mir to create any color he wanted.

Oil paints stay wet for a long time. This gives artists more time to change colors, textures, and details. During the Impressionist art movement, artists often used a technique called alla prima or "wet-on-wet." This meant they mixed paints directly on the canvas while the paint was still wet. This method was popular for painting outdoors. Usually, oil paintings are made on canvas stretched tightly over a wooden frame.

Where You Can See It Now

The Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona bought Terraced Village in 1932. It was part of a collection called the Plandiura Collection. Today, the painting is proudly displayed at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (National Art Museum of Catalonia).

Exhibitions

Terraced Village has been shown in several art exhibitions.

Partage Plus Project

Terraced Village was chosen for a project called Partage Plus. This project aimed to digitize and share Art Nouveau artworks for Europeana. Europeana is a big online library of European cultural heritage.

The project started in March 2012. Twenty-five different organizations worked together. Their goal was to digitize 75,000 items in two years. These items included Art Nouveau objects, artworks, posters, and even buildings. The project made all these amazing pieces available for everyone to see online through Europeana.

Other Works by Joaquim Mir

• 

  Thundery Sky (around 1907).

• 

  The New Pond (around 1907-1913).

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  Spring (1910).

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  The Jewel (around 1910).

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  Stained glass triptych: El Gorg Blau (around 1911).

See also

In Spanish: Pueblo escalonado para niños