LA MONTSERRAT (THE MONTSERRAT)

1940

Medium : Ink wash and ink on paper

Dimensions : 40,5 x 30 cm

“The Montserrat” is an iron sculpture executed by Julio González ca. 1936-1937.

This work shows a Catalan mother, wearing the typical peasant headscarf, brandishing her child like a shield and holding a sickle by her side.  This determined, combative peasant mother–head raised, looking ahead, and taking a step forward–was displayed along with Picasso’s “Guernica” in the Spanish Republican Pavilion at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris.  Held in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, this international exhibition was meant to gain support for democratic Spain under fascist attack.

“The Montserrat” draws from two major themes in González’s work: peasant life and mother/child scenes.  The title “Montserrat” clearly identifies this peasant mother as Catalan. Not only was this a typical Catalan first name, it also references the mountain range where the Santa María de Montserrat Monastery was located, home to the medieval sculpture of the Virgin of Montserrat, patron saint of Catalonia.

González thereby imbues the figure with a multi-layered identity that allowed people to understand and relate to the work on a variety of levels: as a mother, a spiritual figure, a woman of the people, a Catalan, a defender of her family and country.

Furthermore, though González was simultaneously creating works on the threshold of abstraction, like “Femme au miroir” (1937), the figurative style used for “The Montserrat”, made it easily comprehensible for the public.  “The Montserrat” is nonetheless innovative.  González used his signature welding technique to fashion the figure from sheets of scrap metal, leaving visible welding seams that attest to his intervention in the creative process.

“The Montserrat” is thereby emblematic of Julio González’s antifascist political engagement, his solidarity with his compatriots under attack, and his innovative sculptural practice.  It is currently on display at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.