Julio Gonzalez

Julio González i Pellicer (21 September 1876 - 27 March 1942) was a Spanish sculptor and painter who developed the expressive use of iron as a medium for modern sculpture.

Youth

Julio González Pellicer was born in Barcelona, on September 21, 1876. He came from a line of metalsmith workers; his grandfather was a goldsmith in Galicia, the established Catalan capital in the early 19th century. González's father, Concordio González, owned a workshop and as a young boy, González learned from him the techniques of gold, silver, and iron metalwork. He and his older brother, Joan González, both studied these techniques. Further, all three González children studied at Circol Artist Sant Luc, a Catholic school that remodeled its education on the medieval art guilds, influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement in England. In 1896, González's father, died. The family workshop was passed onto the older son, Joan. With Joan directly involved with the family workshop, Joan and Julio focused on their metalwork techniques and artistic aspirations. By the end of the century, both brothers began to frequent visiting Els Quatre Gats, a café which was the meeting point of many artists, especially those related with modernisme. It was there where they met artists like Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.

By the turn of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso and Julio González became great friends. González moved to Paris in 1902, but traveled to Barcelona several times in the early 20th century. At the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, their close friendship is verified by a drawn portrait, entitled "Julio González and the Robust Man Seen from Behind". They remained close friends until 1908; scholars do not know why their friendship ended at this time, but based on González archival materials, it appears to be related to previous dispute with Julio's brother, Joan.

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, though during this period he also painted and —especially— created jewellery pieces. 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 Brâncuși's plasters. In the winter of 1927-28, he showed Picasso how to use oxy-fuel welding and cutting. When their friendship re-established itself, Picasso and González collaborated on a piece called Woman in the Garden between 1928-1930. 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. González began to formalize a new visual language in sculpture that would change the course of his career.

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