ISMAEL GONZÃLEZ DE LA SERNA (Guadix, Granada, 1898 - Paris, 1968).
Untitled, 1937.
Mixed media on panel.
With stamps from private collections: E. James and Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler.
Presents label of the Clovis Gallery, Paris.
Measurements: 39 x 46,5 cm; 57 x 64 cm (frame).
In the year this piece was made, 1937, Ismael González took part in the Spanish Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris, thus proving his worth as a painter and establishing his career in the eyes of the critics and the public. However, although this was a good professional period, the ravages of the war had left a strong impression on the artist that is reflected in his painting. This work is an example of this, as we can see how he gradually eliminated his Cubist influence and introduced a much more expressive and tragic chromatic range. In this still life, the main motif, the fruit bowl, still retains this cubist heritage both in form and in the artist's treatment of shadow. However, the space with the background open to the outside, the score and the presence of the letters show us a compositional conception with a classical heritage.
Ismael González de la Serna began his art studies in Granada and completed them in Madrid, at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts. In his early years he developed an eclectic pictorial style, drawing on Impressionist, Symbolist and Modernist sources. One of the first examples of his youthful language can be found in the illustrations he made for his childhood friend Federico García Lorca, in what was to be his first book, "Impresiones y paisajes" (1918). That same year, Ismael de la Serna held his first exhibition in Granada, and shortly afterwards he presented his works at the Ateneo in Madrid. In 1921 he moved to Paris in order to broaden his artistic horizons, joining the circles of the School of Paris. Among his Parisian friends was Pablo Picasso, who influenced his work but was, above all, the Granada painter's protector. During this period De la Serna's style was permeable to the influences of the avant-garde, particularly Cubism and Expressionism, which he worked in a highly personal manner. Likewise, the initial influence of Impressionism was always evident in his work. The year 1927 marked the beginning of a period of strong influence on his work, which began with the painter's solo exhibition at the influential Paris gallery of Paul Guillaume. This exhibition was followed by many others, both in Paris and in Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Granada and Mexico. In 1928 he was commissioned by the director of "Cahiers d'Art", Christian Zervos, to illustrate a special edition of twenty sonnets by Góngora. The key to his recognition lies in his sensual interpretation of the forms of Cubism, based on the relevance of a drawing with a sinuous and highly decorative line, combined with strong chromatic contrasts. With a marked spatial sense and without ever abandoning figuration, De la Serna mainly depicted still lifes, in which he emphasised the sensory aspect of his painting with metaphorical sensory references such as music, fruit or open windows. He also worked on landscapes and portraits. After inaugurating the activities of the Asociación de Artistas Ibéricos in Madrid with a solo exhibition in 1932, the painter embarked on new avenues of artistic experimentation which, after the Second World War, led to a more schematic and simplified style of painting, close to contemporary abstract solutions. Ismael de la Serna is represented in the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the Fine Arts Museums of Granada and Seville, the ARTIUM in Vitoria, the Popular Museum of Contemporary Art in Vilafamés and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, among many others.