TÊTE AU MIROIR – HEAD WITH MIRROR

1934

Medium : Bronze, cast    

Dimensions : 59,5 x 35 x 29,5 cm

“Tête au miroir” (“Head with a mirror”) is a sculpture in forged bronze, executed by Julio González around 1934.

The sculpture consists of a conical base that supports a thick contour outlining roughly two thirds of a circle.  A flat disc is placed perpendicular to the lower extremity of the circle.  A series of short, pointed, curved elements emerge from the right and left sides of the top of the circular contour.

“Head with a mirror” is a variation on the “femme à sa toilette” theme, in other words, scenes of women washing or grooming themselves.   González was fond of this subject that allowed him to explore and analyze various postures and movements of the human body.  Here, he has simplified and schematized the motif of a woman fixing her hair in front of a mirror—her head and body have been reduced to geometric shapes, juxtaposed with the energetic pointed rays representing her hair, and the flat disc representing the mirror.  A preparatory drawing for this work, housed at the musée de Grenoble, further illustrates his creative process (fig. 2).  The result is an abstraction of a classical theme infused with both grace and dynamism.

“Head with a mirror” is part of a series of linear sculptures created by González in the first half of the 1930s.  These works demonstrate his revolutionary technique of “drawing in space”, that is, using metallic contours to outline forms whose volumes are completed by empty space.  This sculpture in forged bronze also reminds us of the diversity of the materials used by this artist most famous for his work in iron, but who also sculpted in other media, like silver, stone or plaster.

“Head with a mirror” is one of the few works purchased during Julio González’s lifetime, by the renowned Paris-based art critic, gallerist and collector Christian Zervos, founder of the prestigious art review Cahiers d’art.  “Head with a mirror” is housed today in the Musée Zervos in Vézelay (Burgundy, France).