Miró made his so-called ‘wild paintings’ between the winter of 1935 and spring of 1936.
"Unconsciously, he felt the typical sense of malaise when something serious is fated to happen. [...] I sensed a disaster and did not know why: they were the Spanish Civil War and the World Wars. I tried to represent this tragic atmosphere that tortured me, which I felt inside.”
Miró revives light and dark and some figuration to convey an impression of reality, but with a strong subjective sense that includes the desolation of the landscape and an intensification of colours. The small size of the work forced him to work carefully and allowed him to dwell on the details.
The title recalls a quote from Rembrandt: "It is in a dunghill where I find rubies and emeralds."