GONZALEZ

The Spanish artist Julio González (1876–1942) has been described as ‘the most important unknown sculptor of the twentieth century’ and ranked with Picasso and Brancusi as one of the three great sculptors of his generation. His development of sculpture in iron, often employing found pieces of industrial scrap metal, was both technically innovatory and, in its handling of schematic and abstract forms, stylistically avant-garde. The Barcelona-born González came to sculpture from his native Catalan decorative metalworking and jewellery tradition, and this film subtly documents the emergence of a major artistic talent from a context of craft production. From 1900 González lived in France, and younger contemporaries including the painter Hans Hartung discuss his place in the progressive Parisian cultural milieu of the 1930s. Combining fresh biographical insights with a survey of work, this film builds up a compelling picture of González’s achievement, signalling a reassessment of this powerful but elusive artistic personality.