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Julio González (sculptor)
Encyclopedia
Juli González i Pellicer (21 September 1876 - 27 March 1942) was a Catalan
(Spanish
) abstract
and cubist painter
and sculptor
.
, as a young man he worked with his older brother, Joan, in his father's metal smith workshop. Both brothers took evening classes in art
at the Escuela de Bellas Artes. In the late 1890s Julio began to visit Els Quatre Gats
, a Barcelona café
, where he first met Pablo Picasso
. He left Spain in 1900 and moved to Paris
, never to return to his homeland.
In Paris he associated with the Spanish circle of artists of Montmartre
, including Pablo Gargallo
, Juan Gris
and Max Jacob
. In 1918, he developed an interest in the artistic possibilities of welding
, after learning the technique whilst working in the Renault
factory
at Boulogne-Billancourt
. This technique would subsequently become his principal contribution to sculpture. In 1920 he renewed his acquaintance with Picasso, for whom he later provided technical assistance in executing sculptures in iron, participating to Picasso's researches on analytic cubism. He also forged the infrastructures of Constantin Brâncuşi
's plasters. In the winter of 1927-28, he showed Picasso how to use oxy-fuel welding and cutting
. From October 1928 till 1932, both men worked together—and in 1932, González was the only artist with whom Picasso shared his own personal art carnet. Influenced by Picasso, the fifty-year-old González deeply changed his style, exchanging bronze for iron, and volumes for lines.
In 1937 he contributed to the Spanish Pavilion at the World Fair in Paris
(La Monserrat, standing near Guernica
), and to Cubism and Abstract Art at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York
. That same year he moved to Arcueil
, near Paris, where he died in 1942.
, the Cleveland Museum of Art
, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
(Washington D.C.), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
, the Kröller-Müller Museum
(Otterlo, Netherlands), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
, the Luís Ángel Arango Library
(Bogotá, Colombia), the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art
(Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes (France), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
(Madrid) Museo Patio Herreriano de Valladolid (Spain), Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
(Barcelona, Spain), the Museum of Modern Art
(New York City), the Nasher Sculpture Center
(Dallas, Texas), the National Gallery of Scotland
(Edinburgh), the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
(Venice), the Philadelphia Museum of Art
, the Pompidou Center (Paris), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
(New York City), and the Tate Gallery
(London) are among the public collections holding work by Julio González.
The biggest collection of this artist's work is held by the IVAM (Valencia’s Institute of Modern Art), in the city of Valencia, Spain, with close to 400 pieces.
http://www.ivam.es/en/collections/3-julio-gonzlez
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
(Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
and cubist painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and sculptor
Cubist sculpture
Cubist sculpture is a style developed in parallel with cubist painting, centered in Paris, beginning around 1909 and evolving through the early 1920s.The style is most closely associated with the formal experiments of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso...
.
Biography
Born in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, as a young man he worked with his older brother, Joan, in his father's metal smith workshop. Both brothers took evening classes in art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
at the Escuela de Bellas Artes. In the late 1890s Julio began to visit Els Quatre Gats
Els Quatre Gats
Els Quatre Gats , often written Els 4 Gats, was a café in Barcelona which opened on 12 June 1897. It also operated as a hostel, a cabaret, a pub and a restaurant. Active until 1903, Els Quatre Gats became one of the main centers of Modernisme in Barcelona...
, a Barcelona café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
, where he first met Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. He left Spain in 1900 and moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, never to return to his homeland.
Paris
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, including Pablo Gargallo
Pablo Gargallo
Pablo Emilio Gargallo was a Spanish sculptor and painter.Born in Maella, Aragon, he moved to Barcelona, Catalonia, with his family in 1888, where he would begin his training in the arts. Gargallo developed a style of sculpture based on the creation of three-dimensional objects from pieces of flat...
, Juan Gris
Juan Gris
José Victoriano González-Pérez , better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived and worked in France most of his life...
and Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
. In 1918, he developed an interest in the artistic possibilities of welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
, after learning the technique whilst working in the Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
at Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a sub-prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt....
. This technique would subsequently become his principal contribution to sculpture. In 1920 he renewed his acquaintance with Picasso, for whom he later provided technical assistance in executing sculptures in iron, participating to Picasso's researches on analytic cubism. He also forged the infrastructures of Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
's plasters. In the winter of 1927-28, he showed Picasso how to use oxy-fuel welding and cutting
Oxy-fuel welding and cutting
Oxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals, respectively. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903...
. From October 1928 till 1932, both men worked together—and in 1932, González was the only artist with whom Picasso shared his own personal art carnet. Influenced by Picasso, the fifty-year-old González deeply changed his style, exchanging bronze for iron, and volumes for lines.
In 1937 he contributed to the Spanish Pavilion at the World Fair in Paris
Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)
The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne was held from May 25 to November 25, 1937 in Paris, France...
(La Monserrat, standing near Guernica
Guernica (painting)
Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War...
), and to Cubism and Abstract Art at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. That same year he moved to Arcueil
Arcueil
Arcueil is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:The name Arcueil was recorded for the first time in 1119 as Arcoloï, and later in the 12th century as Arcoïalum, meaning "place of the arches" , in...
, near Paris, where he died in 1942.
Public collections
The Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, the Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
(Washington D.C.), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, the Kröller-Müller Museum
Kröller-Müller Museum
The Kröller-Müller Museum is an art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands.-Museum:...
(Otterlo, Netherlands), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, the Luís Ángel Arango Library
Luís Ángel Arango Library
Luis Ángel Arango Library, is a public library located in Bogotá, Colombia. It was founded in 1923 as a small library with a few books on economics. It is currently under the administration of the Bank of the Republic...
(Bogotá, Colombia), the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art
The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The Block Museum was established in 1980 by Chicago art collectors Mary and Leigh B. Block...
(Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes (France), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is the official name of Spain's national museum of 20th century art . The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992 and is named for Queen Sofia of Spain...
(Madrid) Museo Patio Herreriano de Valladolid (Spain), Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya , abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is housed in the Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 World's Fair...
(Barcelona, Spain), the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(New York City), the Nasher Sculpture Center
Nasher Sculpture Center
Opened in 2003, the Nasher Sculpture Center is a museum in Dallas, Texas that houses a collection of modern and contemporary sculpture. It is located on a site adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art in the heart of the Dallas Arts District...
(Dallas, Texas), the National Gallery of Scotland
National Gallery of Scotland
The National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, is the national art gallery of Scotland. An elaborate neoclassical edifice, it stands on The Mound, between the two sections of Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens...
(Edinburgh), the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is one of several museums of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation....
(Venice), the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, the Pompidou Center (Paris), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
(New York City), and the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
(London) are among the public collections holding work by Julio González.
The biggest collection of this artist's work is held by the IVAM (Valencia’s Institute of Modern Art), in the city of Valencia, Spain, with close to 400 pieces.
http://www.ivam.es/en/collections/3-julio-gonzlez
Further reading
- Nancy Marmer, "Julio Gonzalez: Sculpture in Iron," Art in America, November/December 1978, pp. 23–24.