Lunar Bird

Lunar Bird (also known as Moonbird) was first created by Spanish sculptor Joan Miró in 1945. He molded the original version by hand, as a small clay maquette or preliminary model for a sculpture. It was approximately eight inches tall. In the 1960s he recreated this sculpture as a bronze statue that stands more than seven feet tall. Miró’s Lunar Bird is one of many imaginary beings he created that combine elements from the earth and sky. Crescent moon shapes, like the ones that make up this sculpture, and other cosmic objects (like the sun and stars) are recurring elements in his work.

The spectacle of the sky overwhelms me. I’m overwhelmed when I see, in an immense sky, the crescent of the moon, or the sun.

Joan Miró

Miró was part of the surrealist art movement of the early 20th century. Surrealist artists and writers began their movement in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, as a reaction to World War I. They wanted to challenge reality and society’s norms by exploring the subconscious mind and dreams through their art and writing. Other famous surrealist artists include René Magritte, Frida Kahlo, and Salvador Dalí.