Woman with Hair in a Bun

A pioneer of welded iron sculpture, Julio González initially worked in his native Barcelona as a metalsmith and later pursued a career in painting in Paris. It was there that he came to know Pablo Picasso, with whom he eventually embarked on a group of landmark metal sculptures. This work is one of approximately 30 heads that González fabricated during the first, and most experimental, phase of his evolution as a sculptor. It presents a traditional subject—the head of a woman—executed in a modernist style and industrial technique. Rather than carving a stone or wood block, or modeling with clay or plaster, González welded together pieces of iron cut into geometric shapes to indicate a woman’s features.