Miró, Joan, À la Santé du Serpent, 1953

Joan Miro and René Char worked on bibliophile books on several occasions. They became friends through the Surrealist group, although both soon distanced themselves from it, criticizing its authoritarianism.

A la santé du serpent is a poem by René Char in the form of aphorisms, twenty-seven in all.
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XXII

Neglect those to whose eyes man passes for no more than a stage of color on the earth’s tormented back.
Let them pour out their long remonstrance.
The ink of the poker and the redness of the cloud are one”.
Joan Miro created a lithograph printed by Mourlot for an original edition of this poem. More than the result of a simple illustration, the artist works hand-in-hand with the poet to create a visual and aural harmony, a complete experience that lifts the reader further into the imaginary.