Personnage debout
If the use of iron in sculpture is commonplace today and no longer surprises, it must be remembered that this material enabled artists to be freed from the constraints of bronze or marble, and opened new ways to contemporary forms. We owe this freedom to Julio Gonzalez.
Julio Gonzalez (1876-1942)
He was a painter, sculptor, architect, glazier, earthenware potter, furniture maker. He forged, hammered, and moulded iron, copper, gold, bronze, silver. Alexandre Mercereau, 1922
González was an artisan talented metalworker, painter and draughtsman and stood out as one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century in particular for his iron sculpture. Breaking with the borders between artistic and industrial practices, González succeeded in using iron to “draw in space”, integrating space as an essential constructive element in his compositions.
