Joan Miro, The Naive

Ode to Miro, The Naive  C.T. Rasmuss, oil (July 4, 2013).

                 
I recently came across an interesting art book titled, Naive Art by Nathalia Brodskaia; what caught my attention was the painting cover, Myself, Portrait Landscape by French Painter, Henri Rousseau.  After finishing an exciting chapter I, it's my understanding that Rousseau's the 1st/main icon of Naive Art Movement.

Myself, Portrait Landscape  Henri Rousseau, oil (1890).

As I began to read chapter II, I was surprised to see it start with Miro as the focus, but I shouldn't really; given his style and goals in his art, "to assassinate painting", where he set out to create a new set of archetypes, etc.  Here's where a definition of Naive Painting helps:

Naive Art-is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique.

Femme III  Joan Miro, oil (1965).

If we replace 'childlike' with the widely accepted term, Atavism - the tendency to revert to ancestral type; we now include works even more familiar artists such as Picasso or Matisse, who were greatly influenced by African & Eastern artifacts/primal art, respectively.

               

Nude with Towel  Pablo Picasso, oil (1907).

Girl with Green Eyes  Henri Matisse, oil (1908).

Now back to Rousseau, who exhibited periodically with the Impressionists from 1884-1910, it made me think of Gauguin, then I thought of his statement: to Van Gogh: "try to capture your sunflowers by memory".  Given the statement by Gauguin and Miro's work presented in my art book....I closed it and tried Atavism -

Miro style, but yes!! in my own language:)