MIRALLES Lot n° 44

ANA MIRALLES MURAQQA Snorgleux Editions 2012 Original cover of the first edition. Signed. Watercolor and India ink on paper 37.3 × 45.3 cm (14.69 × 17.83 in.) Before the Indian cycle of Djinn, Ana Miralles had already tackled the mysteries of the subcontinent. With the help of her husband, the scriptwriter Emilio Ruíz, she created Muraqqa. The young painter Priti, her central character, was sent to a 16th century Mughal ruler. Her mission: to compose a muraqqa', an album of miniatures, in this case devoted to the life of the royal harem. "Djinn and Muraqqa' have as little to do with each other as a French novel of the Belle Epoque and The Three Musketeers," Ana says, "In Muraqqa', which is more realistic, eroticism is a means to an end. On the cover of the current edition, Priti painted. This illustration, which graces the cover of the first printing published by Snorgleux Editions, shows the heroine absorbed in analyzing her work. She is relaxed, like a lover savoring a letter or an actress checking her role. "A year and a half separates these two watercolors," smiles Ana Miralles. "That gave Priti time to work." As the heroine proudly says in the corner of a square, "My time is contained in my paintings."