Stimulated from an eight month sojourn to New York and Paris in 1948, Miró embarked on a period of great productivity in Barcelona. His work from 1949 to 1950 included many paintings and drawings but also the artist added sculptures, objects, etchings and lithographs. The paintings from this period

form two distinct series that the painter worked
on simultaneously: first, very elaborate paintings,
and second, completely spontaneous paintings. The
former, works of incredible precision, go back after
all these years to the miniaturism of The Farm and
to the dizzying purity of the Constellations. The
others, by contrast, seem like free improvisations
made on the spur of the moment; their rapidity of
execution and autonomy of gesture is as inherent in
them as patient elaboration in the more searching or
"thorough" paintings. The former are first and
foremost "creations," the latter "communications."
They correspond in the painter's temperament to
moments of reflection and moments of impulse, which
follow one another in a natural succession like
inhaling and exhaling. We have had many occasions
to describe and contrast the two types of hand-
writing involved. Heretofore they have most often
appeared in one and the same canvas; never before
were they so clearly separated as in these works of
1949 and 1950. (J. Dupin, op. cit., p. 393)

Personnage et étoile from the 'elaborate' or 'slow' series is painted on heavy herringbone woven canvas that the artist has stained in earth tones. By rubbing or sanding the canvas, Miró highlights the texture and weave allowing the color to radiate. On the vaporous ground, animated figures, birds, animals and stars play and combine in rhythmic harmony. These interwoven linear images are punctuated by areas of brilliant color creating a pulsating environment. With total conviction, Miró has created a vibrantly magical playground.