Skip to Main Content
  Navigation Menu
      Admission is always free

          Open today:10:00  to 5:00
          Directions
           Play Artle
        Visit
      Visit
          
            Getting Here
          
            Accessibility
          
            Tours, Guides & Maps
          
            Food & Drink
          
            Gallery Shops
          
            Visitor Policies
  
  Collection
      Collection
          
            Highlights
          
            Search the Collection
          
            Artists Search
          
            Acquisition Highlights
          
            Stories
  
  Exhibitions
      Exhibitions
          
            Current
          
            Special Installations
          
            Upcoming
          
            On Tour
          
            Past
  
  Calendar
      Calendar
          
            Films
          
            Performances
          
            Talks
          
            Guided Tours
          
            After Hours
          
            Fun for Kids
          
            Festivals
          
            Workshops
  
  Learn
      Learn
          
            Teachers
          
            Families
          
            Teens
          
            Adults
          
            Learning Resources
          
            Music Programs
          
            Film Programs
  
  Conservation
      Conservation
          
            Projects
          
            Publications
          
            Resources
  
  Research
      Research
          
            The Center
          
            Publications
          
            Make an Appointment
          
            Archives
          
            Library
          
            NGA Online Editions
  
  Support
      Support
          
            Donate Now
          
            National Membership
          
            Circle Membership
          
            Leadership Groups
          
            Planned Giving
          
            Major Giving
          
            Gifts of Art
  
  Shop
      Shop
          
            Books
          
            Jewelry
          
            Apparel & Accessories
          
            Kids
          
            NGA Custom Prints
  
  Play Artle
            Previous Menu
              


  Search
  Hide Menu
  
  Home>Learn>Teachers>Lessons and Activities>Art Tales for Pre-K>Art Starters: Joan Miró
      

      
      Search Teachers
  Online Resources Find Lessons Online Courses Explore Resources
  On-site Resources School Tours & Programs Professional Development
 Joan Miró
  Two angular, cream-white buildings flanking a central, stylized tree are surrounded by brown soil, small animals, and farmhouse objects like watering cans and buckets beneath a clear, azure-blue sky in this square landscape painting. We look straight onto the buildings and slightly down onto the earth in front of us. About a third of the way up the composition, the horizon is lined with trees and mountains in the deep distance. The long, spindly branches of the central tree nearly reach the top edge of the painting and abstracted, sickle-shaped leaves are silhouetted against the sky so no leaves overlap. The far edge of the whitewashed structure to our left is cropped. The façade is pierced by two small rectangular windows and an arched hatch at the top under a winch. The back end of a horse is visible through an open door at the bottom center. Horizontal bands in front of the building suggest furrows in plowed earth, and a single stalk of corn grows up into the scene, seeming close to us. A pen protected by netting stretches out in front of the second structure, to our right of center. That wood-frame building has a triangular peaked roof, and the left half is open, like a lean-to. A goat, rooster, birds, and several rabbits occupy the pen. Watering cans, buckets and pails, a hoe, newspaper, lizard, and snail are spaced around the buildings. A tiny stylized person, perhaps a baby, appears in the distance between the buildings near a well where a woman works. A covered wagon, a round mill, trees, and plants fill the rest of the space between the buildings. A disk-like moon hangs in the sky to the right of the tree. The artist signed and dated the lower left corner, "Miro. 1921-22."
      
        
        
            
         	  Joan Miró, The Farm, 1921-1922, oil on canvas, Gift of Mary Hemingway, 1987.18.1
  Joan Miró grew up in Spain, a country in Europe, in a region called Catalonia. As an adult, he moved far away, but every summer he returned to his family’s village to visit. Miró made this painting of his family’s farm, which he loved very much. Miró painted parts of the landscape surrounding the farm in many of his artworks.
  LOOK
  Look for different shapes—circles, squares, triangles. Draw an imaginary line dividing the painting into two parts. What is on either side of your line? List all the different animals you can find. Do you think this is a real place or an imaginary place? Why? Imagine you could visit this farm. Which part of it would you explore first? What would you ask the artist about this work?
  READ
  A New Home (Spanish language version: Un Nuevo Hogar) by Tania de Regil A boy moving from New York to Mexico City and a girl moving from Mexico City to New York express their fears about leaving home to live in a new and unfamiliar place.
  Miró’s Magic Animals by Antony Penrose Tony is a boy whose parents are artists, and Tony is fascinated by his parents' friend, Miró. Tony explores the art that Miró made, with a special interest in the animals in his paintings.
  MAKE: Create a collage
  
  You will need: Paper
Your favorite drawing supplies Before you begin, close your eyes and imagine that you’re visiting your favorite place: the beach, the library, a relative’s house, or somewhere else that is special to you. What is it like there? What do you do there? List the things—both big and small—you might include in a drawing of this place. When you’re ready to draw, fold the paper in half, and then in half again. Open it out flat. Notice how the creases divide the paper into four sections. As you draw, try to remember your special memories of this place. Do any new details come to mind? Put different memories of the place in each of the four sections.
  VOCAB BANK
  crease
landscape
relative
 Download Art Tales: Coloring and Cut-Outs booklet (PDF, 3.5 MB) Art Tales for Pre-K (PDF, 7.2 MB) Primeros Pasos En El Arte (PDF, 7.5 MB) Primeros Pasos En El Arte: Colorear y Recortes (PDF, 3.7 MB) Miró on the Farm lesson plan An Eye for Art: Joan Miró teaching resource (PDF, 9.4 MB)
 Visit Register for the Art Tales pre-K school tour
 Submit Student Work Send images of your students' projects that follow these activities - email [email protected]








Stay connected Learn more about our exhibitions, news, programs, and special offers.
 Email Address for National Gallery newsletter subscription


About About the National Gallery
    
        Stories
    
        Press
    
        FAQs
    
        Contact Us
 Plan a Visit Getting Here
    
        Accessibility
    
        Today's Tours
    
        Food & Drink
    
        Calendar
    
        Downloadable Map
 Get Involved Donate
    
        Membership
    
        Volunteer
    
        Opportunities
    
        Shop Online
 Resources Search the Collection
    
        Conservation
    
        Library
    
        Archives
    
        The Center
    
        Film Programs
    
        Music Programs
    
        Audio/Video
    
        Open Access Images


Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily West Building6th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter or exit from Constitution Avenue, 4th Street, or 7th Street. The Madison Drive entrance is currently closed. East Building4th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter and exit from 4th Street. Sculpture Garden7th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter and exit from 7th Street, Constitution Avenue, or Madison Drive. We are closed on December 25 and January 1.
 The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.


Twitter
          Facebook
          Instagram
		      Pinterest
          YouTube
 © 2024 National Gallery of Art   Notices   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy