Julio González

Private Collection, Paris (acquired by 1987. Sold: Christie's, New York, 7th May 2003, lot 28)

Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

New York, Jan Krugier Gallery & Richard L. Feigen & Co., Drawing in Space, 2007-08, no. 18, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Léon Degand, González, Amsterdam, 1956, no. 21, illustration of the iron version

Asmund Arle, González, Paletten, Gothenburg, 1957, illustration of the iron version p. 20

Pierre Restany, 'Julio González', in Art International, vol. 3, New York, 1959, nos. 3-4, illustration of the iron version p. 30

Poul Vad, 'Optegnelser af González', in Signum, vol. 2, Copenhagen, 1962, no. 1, illustration of the iron version p. 12

Carlos Antonio Arean, 'Julio González y le problematica de la esculture del siglo XX', in Cuardernos de arte del Ateneo de Madrid, vol. 60, Madrid, 1965, illustration of the iron version

Carlos Antonio Arean, '...and González in New York', in The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, 24th February 1969, illustration of the iron version

Pierre Descargues, Julio González, Paris, 1971, illustration of the iron version p. 21

Vicente Aguilera Cerni, Julio, Joan, Roberta González - Itinerario de una dinastia, Barcelona, 1973, no. 227, illustration of the iron version p. 270

Josephine Withers, Julio González, Sculpture in Iron, New York, 1978, no. 97, illustration of the iron version p. 80

Hilton Kramer, 'González', in The New York Times Magazine, March 1983, illustration of the iron version p. 44

Jörn Merkert, Julio González. Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Milan, 1987, no. 203,  illustrations of the iron version pp. 216-217; the present cast listed p. 216

Dark brown patina. Apart from some minor surface dirt and some slight wear to the patina on the extremities and the figure's hair, 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Julio González’s magnificent sculpture, Femme assise I, was originally conceived in iron in 1935. It was constructed from sheets of iron welded together to form a hollow, yet imposing structure. The present work was cast by the artist's daughter Roberta and her husband Hans Hartung in a small numbered edition from 1985 along with other examples of González's finest sculptures. The early 1930s were a period of enormous creativity in which González, working alongside Pablo Picasso, developed a revolutionary sense of spatial freedom in his sculpture. Femme assise I reflects the sophisticated aesthetic and dramatic abstraction for which the artist's sculptures are renowned. His well-known collaboration with Picasso certainly influenced González's approach to sculpture, however his concept of form differed from Picasso’s. 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 three-dimensional parts.

Discussing González’s remarkable accomplishments, Margit Rowell commented: ‘González transformed the face of twentieth century sculpture from an art of representational images to an art of invention: an art of formally self-referential objects evoking ideas. A subway was no longer a model to be imitated but a theme on which to compose autonomous formal variations. A material was no longer a medium in the literal sense but the basic determinant of form. A technique was no longer relegated to the hands of a master craftsman or technician but remained in the hands of the artist alone. In fact, it was through the artist’s direct realization of his work – the direct forging of metals – that the new vision of sculpture as we know it today was born’ (M. Rowell in Julio González. A Retrospective Exhibition (exhibition catalogue), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1983, p. 30).