«The rainbow is enclosed in the coffin». Dissolving without a trace: remythologization in the work of Joan Miró

Keywords: Joan Miró, «rainbow body», Buddhism, dissolution of the self, Emptiness

Abstract

In different spiritual traditions, the rainbow symbolises the relationship between heaven and earth, a key theme in Joan Miró’s pictorial work. According to the artist himself, his work pours a «sacred mythology». In one poem Miró writes: «the rainbow is enclosed in the coffin», as if evoking the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist practice of the dematerialisation of the gross physical body into the subtle «rainbow body» that the yogī achieves with death. An «escape into the absolute», into the lapis lazuli blue «perfect void», which requires before the gross body dissolves without trace: «one must cease to be Miro», «free oneself from the false self».

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Published
2025-07-11
How to Cite
Gonzalo Carbó A. (2025). «The rainbow is enclosed in the coffin». Dissolving without a trace: remythologization in the work of Joan Miró. Amaltea. Journal of Myth Criticism, 17, e88676. https://doi.org/10.5209/amal.88676
Section
Articles