Nu assis de dos 1927

Julio Gonzalez made this metal relief, Nu assis de dos, in 1927, the same year the Jazz Singer, the first 'talkie' film, was released. The metallic surface of Gonzalez's relief is treated like a painterly plane, as the texture of the metal, with its mottled patinas of gold and bronze, is as much the subject as the figure itself. Look closely at the way the figure emerges from the background, its lines blurring. You can see how the artist has worked and reworked the surface to create a sense of light and depth; it's kind of like he’s drawing with metal, isn't it? I'm reminded of Rodin, another sculptor who was fascinated by the way light could transform a form. But where Rodin was interested in the play of light on the surface of the body, Gonzalez seems more interested in the way the body becomes part of the surface itself. In the end art is a conversation; each artist building on the ideas of those who came before.