Julio González

Jet R. Schneider, Paris

Galerie Marwan Hoss, Paris

Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2001

Brugière, "Julio González: Les étapes de l'oeuvre," Cahiers d'Art, vol. 27, Paris, July 1952, illustration of another cast p. 20

Juan-Eduardo Circlot, "El escultor Julio González," Goya, Madrid, January/February 1955, pp. 206-212, illustration of another cast p. 209, fig. 9

Léon Degand, González, Cologne and Berlin, 1956, illustration of another cast fig. 13

Roger van Gindertael, "González," Cimaise, vol. 3, Paris, June/July 1956, pp. 7-14, illustration of another cast p. 8

David Smith, "González: First Master of the Torch," Art News, vol. 54, New York, February 1956, illustration of another cast p. 35

Revista de Información Mundial, Historia de una semana, Madrid, 1959, illustration of another cast p. 37

Pierre Restany, "Julio González," Art International, vol. 3, New York, 1959, illustration of another cast p. 31

Vicente Aguilera Cerni, Julio González, Rome, 1962, illustration of another cast fig. XLVIII

Poul Vad, "Billedhuggeren González," Signum, vol. 2, Copenhagen, 1962, p. 8, illustration of another cast

Martica Sawin, "González and Lipchitz," Arts Magazine, vol. 36, New York, 1962, illustration of another cast p. 15

Carlos Antonio Areán, "Julio González y le problematica de la esculture del siglo XX," Cuadernos de arte del Ateneo de Madrid, vol. 60, Madrid, 1965, illustration of another cast

F.A. Danielli, "Julio González: A Representative showing at the Landau Gallery," Artforum, vol. 4, Los Angeles, December 1965, illustration of another cast p. 29

Carlos Antonio Areán, "Los tres González," Joan González, Julio González, Roberta González, Madrid, 1968, illustration of another cast

Pierre Descargues, "González, sculpteur de fer," XX siècle, no. 35, Paris, December 1970, illustration of another cast p. 152

Henri Galy-Carles, "González, l'homme du fer," Art vivant, Paris, 1970, illustration of another cast

William Tucker, "The Sculpture of González," Studio International, vol. 180, London and New York, December 1970, illustration of another cast p. 239

Josephine Withers, "Julio González," Art and Artists, vol. 5, London, October 1970, pp. 66-69, illustration of another cast p. 69

Pierre Descargues, Julio González, Paris, 1971, p. 41, illustration of another cast fig. 18

Vicente Aguilera Cerni, Julio, Joan, Roberta González, Itinerario de una Dinastia, Barcelona, 1973, no. 225, illustration of another cast p. 269

Ronald Alley, The González Gift to the Tate Gallery, London, 1974, no. 59, illustration of the iron version

Donación González, MAB, Barcelona, 1974, no. 27, illustration of another cast

Cécile Goldscheider, Exposition Julio González au Japon (exhibition catalogue), Tokyo and Osaka, 1975, no. 7, illustration of another cast

Josephine Withers, Julio González, Sculpture in Iron, New York, 1978, no. 71, illustration of another cast p. 57

Margit Rowell, Julio González (exhibition catalogue), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1983, no. 143, illustration of the iron version p. 128

Jörn Merkert, Julio González, Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Milan, 1987, no. 143, illustration of the iron version p. 139

C. Giménez, Picasso and the Age of Iron (exhibition catalogue), New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1993, illustration of the iron version p. 153

The bronze bears a rich, dark brown opaque patina, and the surface is unblemished. The bronze is structurally sound. There is a tiny loss to the stone base at the proper left top back corner. Otherwise, this work is in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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While González's well known collaboration with Picasso in the early 1930s certainly influenced González's approach to sculpture, his development of form differed from Picasso's in the way each conceived of the medium of sculpture. While Picasso collaborated with González to transform his drawings into sculptures, González's own works are much more deeply involved with the process of developing form through the relation of metal parts. Margit Rowell writes that while Picasso's sculptures always clearly read as figures, "González's sculpture always solicits us first as an abstract structure which only with time can be read as an anthropomorphic figure" (Margit Rowell, "Julio González: The birth of modern iron sculpture," Julio González, Catalogue raisonné des Sculptures, Milan, 1987, p. 336).

While Tête dit 'Le Tunnel' refers to a head and neck, the subject of the sculpture is as much the hollow of the 'tunnel' form and the play of surfaces and geometric shapes . This abstract quality of González's sculpture from this period was extremely influential as seen in the work of the American sculptor David Smith. Rowell writes González's works "remain first and always a construction in metal" (Margit Rowell, op. cit., p. 336), describing the attention to sculptural form that would be González's most important contribution to the development of modern sculpture.