Jacques Dupin Library

Discover the library

Introduction

The main purpose of the Jacques Dupin Library and Documentation Centre is to acquire, conserve and publicise documents relating to Joan Miró and his work. It also holds a large collection of publications and audiovisual materials on 20th- and 21st-century art.

The Josep Lluís Sert Archive, named after the architect and friend of Joan Miró, is also housed in a room attached to the library.

These materials are available to researchers, students, art professionals and all those interested in art in general. The library also assists the Fundació Joan Miró in carrying out research and mounting exhibitions.

Since 2013 the library has been known as the Jacques Dupin Library in tribute to this acclaimed poet, who was also Miró’s friend and biographer and a member of the Fundació Joan Miró Board of Trustees. His publications also include numerous monographs on Miró and the catalogue raisonné of his paintings.

A project for the renovation of the Library has been developed in 2021 and 2022 with the support of Diputació de Barcelona and Generalitat de Catalunya.

Access the Jacques Dupin Library catalogue

Library Plan

Research resources and collections

Joan Miró

The Jacques Dupin Library was formed from part of the monographs, exhibition catalogues and journals from Joan Miró’s private library which the artist donated in 1976. Together with publications on Miró that the library has compiled and acquired over the years, these materials constitute an essential documentary archive for the study of Miró’s work.

The library has an extensive collection of monographs, exhibition catalogues, press cuttings and journals, audiovisual media and databases on Miró and his work, from the start of the artist’s career up to the present day.

Bibliography

Joan Miró’s private library

In 1976 Joan Miró donated part of his private library to the Fundació Joan Miró. This essentially artistic collection is made up of monographs, exhibition catalogues and journals. It also includes key works on the artist dating from 1918 to 1976 that the library has subsequently acquired. Joan Miró also donated part of his collection of literature on artists and artistic movements that he had acquired over the years.

In 2007 Joan Miró’s family permanently loaned the Fundació Joan Miró the remaining part of the private library that the artist had kept while he was still alive. Together with the 1976 donation, this material offers researchers the chance to explore Joan Miró’s poetic world through a range of books, chiefly universal literature in Catalan, French and Spanish. It also includes books suggested to Miró by young avant-garde writers and literati whom he met during his early years in Paris and other authors suggested by Breton and Aragon, two leading lights in the Surrealist group. Although the private library consists mainly of works of literature, there are also books on art, philosophy and psychoanalysis.

Researchers on Miró’s work can use this library to discover where his interests lay and what influenced him during his artistic career.

Joan Miró’s private library can be accessed through the library catalogue.

Fundació Joan Miró

The library holds a large collection of documents on the architecture, temporary exhibitions, activities and history of the Fundació Joan Miró. A key resource for understanding how the institution took shape, it comprises numerous exhibition catalogues, monographs, press and magazine cuttings, posters, audiovisual media, educational material, leaflets, programmes and invitations, among others.

20th- and 21st-century art

The Jacques Dupin Library and Documentation Centre at the Fundació Joan Miró also specialises in 20th- and 21st-century art.

It holds an extensive collections of documents from the early-20th-century avant-gardes to the most recent artistic trends on such subjects as painting, sculpture, installations, performance art, drawing, graphic art, design, architecture, town planning, video, photography, film, literature and art with new media, among others. It includes essential works on Surrealism, which had a major influence on Miró’s art.

Acquisitions by the library come from three sources: purchases, gifts and exchanges of exhibition catalogues with Spanish and overseas art centres.

The Josep Lluís Sert Archive

Sketches, plans, correspondence and photographs of Josep Lluís Sert’s projects in Catalonia, Mallorca, Ibiza, France, the United States, South America and the Middle East; personal photographs and letters; and a collection of books and journals from his private library: 3,000 documents donated to the Fundació Joan Miró by Sert in 1982 and by his friend and collaborator Jaume Freixa in 2003.

This archive is kept in the Sert Room at the Fundació Joan Miró. It has been digitised and can be browsed on a database.

Bibliography

Resources and Services

  • Free-of-charge public access. No booking required
  • 40 reading seats
  • 15 power points for laptops
  • Online access to the library catalogue
  • Browse the library database and online digital resources
  • Browse books, journals and audiovisual materials
  • Take out audiovisual materials on loan
  • Inter-library loans
  • Wi-Fi
  • Telephone, postal and email information service
  • Colour and b/w photocopying service

FAQ

  • Where is the library?
    The library and Sert Room are on the second floor of the Fundació Joan Miró. Please use the staircase to the right of the main entrance.
    People with reduced mobility may use the lift. Please notify staff at the entrance.
  • Do I need to book beforehand to use the library?
    No, there is no need to book. The library is open to the public free of charge Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 2 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm, and on Monday and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm.
  • The Fundació Joan Miró is closed on Monday. Is the library also closed?
    No, even though the Fundació Joan Miró is closed, the library is open on Monday from 10 am to 2 pm.
  • Who may browse the library’s general collection?
    The library’s collections are available to researchers, students, art professional and anyone else interested in Joan Miró and 20th- and 21st-art in general.
  • What is Joan Miró’s private library? Who may browse it?
    In 1976 Joan Miró donated part of his collection of books, exhibition catalogues and art journals to the Fundació Joan Miró and these are now kept in the library’s restricted-access section. They may be browsed during the library’s opening hours by accredited researchers, who should show their passport or ID card and a completed consultation request form.
    In 2007 Joan Miró’s family permanently loaned the Fundació Joan Miró the remaining part of his private library, made up chiefly of works of universal literature. Researchers should book beforehand at the Library to browse this collection.
    You may browse the bibliography of all the works in Joan Miró’s private library in the library catalogue.
  • What is the Sert Archive?
    The Josep Lluís Sert Archive is made up of some 3,000 documents donated to the Fundació Joan Miró by Sert in 1982 and supplemented by his friend and collaborator Jaume Freixa through later donations.
    The collection is digitised and can be accessed from the computers in the Sert Room and the library.
  • How can I find books and audiovisual materials in the library?
    Once you have located the document in question in the library catalogue, you can find out which shelf it is on by looking on the maps in the reading room. The library staff will be pleased to help if necessary.
    Books should be left on the table and not returned to the shelves after use.
    Please ask the library staff for audiovisual materials.
  • Does the library offer a lending service?
    Only audiovisual materials may be taken out on loan.
    There is an inter-library service with libraries that form part of the Collective Catalogue of Libraries in Catalonia (CCUC).
  • May I use my laptop in the library?
    Yes. The library also has a Wi-Fi internet connection.
  • May I make photocopies?
    Yes. The library has a colour and b/w photocopier for users to use. Library documents may be photocopied in accordance with the terms of conditions of the Spanish Copyright Act.
  • May I take photographs of library documents?
    You may take flashless photographs of library documents for research purposes provided that you have asked the library staff for permission.
  • May I reserve documents?
    Yes, you may reserve up to seven documents for a week. The library staff reserve the right to decide which documents may or may not be reserved.

Opening hours

The Library and the Sert Archive will be temporarily closed.

For any inquiries please contact biblioteca(ELIMINAR)@fmirobcn.org or arxiu.sert(ELIMINAR)@fmirobcn.org.