Julio González (1876-1942)

Craftsman, painter, draughtsman and above all sculptor, this architect of form and light was one of the greatest artists of his time. Born in Barcelona, Parisian by adoption, González forges, hammers and sculpts iron and copper, gold, bronze and silver, without neglecting stone or plaster. For this “plastician of the void”, who succeeds in “drawing in space” with wires and iron planes, space becomes a material in the same way as matter. González is now recognized as a pioneer of 20th-century modern sculpture, having strongly influenced the practice of many contemporary artists.