- Artist
- Joan Miró
- Dates
- —
- Place
- Archive of the Fundació Joan Miró
- Curated by
- Teresa Montaner and Elena Escolar
L'Antitête is an anthology of poems by Tristan Tzara written between 1916 and 1932. The earliest poems coincide with the founding of the Dadaist movement by the poet, while the later ones were written as an active member of Surrealism. The work was first published in 1933 and reissued in three volumes as a bibliophile's edition in 1949 by Bordas éditeur in Paris. Max Ernst illustrated the first volume, Monsieur Aa l'Antiphilosophe, Yves Tanguy the second, Minuits pour géants, and Joan Miró the third, Le Désespéranto.
From this last volume, the Fundació Joan Miró preserves part of the correspondence that Tzara addressed to Miró, as well as a significant number of proofs that document the book's creative process. Miró engraved the eight plates that illustrate Le Désespéranto at William Hayter's Atelier 17 in New York. The experience Miró gained in this workshop, known for its innovative techniques and collaborative atmosphere, helped him, as he explained to Tzara, to fulfill his desire to "reach the expression of pure spirit and a complete fusion between poet and illustrator."
Le Désespéranto combines in a single word despair and hope-two feelings that, at the time of the book's reissue, were still very much alive in both Tzara and Miró. Author and artist jointly approached this project with the excitement of creating a "precious object."
