Quiet man with welding torch: a portrait of sculptor Julio Gonzalez 1876-1942

Episode of Series “Phaidon art collection”.
The spanish artist Julio Gonzalez (1876-1942) has been recognised along with Brancusi and Picasso as one of the most important sculptors of the 20th Century in his generation responsible for ‘opening the most doors for 20th century sculpture’. A man of acute sensibilities whose ‘aesthetics of poverty’ gave birth to a legacy that celebrated found junk-metal and iron scraps making elegant and poignant sculptural forms. The documentary examines the sculptors past as jeweller and his growing aesthetic and technical methods throughout his career. A fearful man who lived a simple life away from publicity and the art world after the volatile period surrounding the world wars in Europe and the Spanish civil war. Narrated by Lyndon Brook.