Biography
Julio Gonzalez, of Catalonian origin, comes from a family of goldsmiths and iron workers. Initiated in metal working, he creates jewelry and cast objects, and simultaneously perfects his drawing in a night class at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts.
With the sale of the Gonzalez workshops, Julio finally settles in Paris.
The first exhibitions at the Salon d'automne present him as a painter, sculptor, goldsmith-jeweler.
From 1910 he carries out his first embossed metal masks, a first step towards recognition of his work. In the post-war Montparnasse, Gonzalez meets and frequents the great artists.
The group and individual exhibitions meet and surpass expectations; He sells paintings, sculptures, jewelry and drawings and his ingenious imagination is recognized by critics.
In demand by the press, his first sculpture in iron dated 1927 shows a design as original as the material employed, it is a novelty for the sculptor. He produces works in which the effects of shadow and light materialize with line and movement.
Julio Gonzalez was among the artists of his time and is part of the history of modern art.
He dies in March 1942 at his home in Arcueil.
