PETIT MASQUE BAROQUE – SMALL BAROQUE MASK

1927 -1929

Medium : Iron, cast, welded with welded rods, bent.

Dimensions : 12,5 x 11,2 x 1,8 cm

« Petit masque baroque (Small Baroque mask) » is a work in forged, cut & welded, iron, executed by Julio González ca. 1928.

Small Baroque mask shows a woman’s frontal, simplified face.  The traits, fashioned out of iron rods and plates, are attached to a rounded piece of scrap metal, slightly pointed at the lower extremity to indicate the chin, and surrounded by a metal border.  The eyes are formed from three stacked horizontal plates intersected by a short, vertical rod indicating the pupil.  The convex horizontal element underneath signifies a smiling mouth.  The face is framed and animated by a profusion of arabesques, formed by expertly twisted iron rods, representing the tight curls of a short, bobbed haircut.

These dynamic curls explain the mask’s designation as “baroque”, whose inviting and energetic appeal sets it apart among González’s more austere masks of this transitional time in his career.  Indeed, as he abandons painting for sculpture, and classicism for the avant-garde, he executes a series of masks in the late 1920s which show his keen interest in non-Western art forms like African masks as a means to breathe new life into his oeuvre.

Small Baroque masque also speaks to the lively context of González’s life and work in 1920s Montparnasse, epicenter of the Parisian avant-garde. The wavy “garçonne” haircut evokes the modern, independent woman of the roaring 1920s, embodied by Kiki de Montparnasse.

This singer, dancer, artist, and muse, known as the “Queen of Montparnasse”, was immortalized the same year by González’s friend and compatriot Pablo Gargallo, whom González had taught the basics of welding techniques several years earlier.  Their work speaks to the significant role of Spanish artists at the heart of the Parisian avant-garde, and foreshadows González’s revolutionary work to come.