The Sala Noble of the Palacio de Villalón hosts 25 paintings and drawings and a sculpture by Julio González loaned by the Museo Reina Sofía, on the 150th anniversary of his birth. The exhibition can be visited until January 17, 2027.
InforMálaga newsroom
·
·
Photo: Comunicación Ciudad de Málaga
Update of October 24, 10:58
The note specifies that the collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía de Madrid, lender of the pieces, also extends to its director, Manuel Segade. Likewise, the note puts the number of works on display at 26, compared with the 25 detailed in the published information: 11 paintings, 14 drawings and one sculpture.
In the statements by the artistic director, Lourdes Moreno, it is added that Julio González achieved recognition and critical acclaim late, far from colleagues such as Brancusi or Calder, and that the exhibition follows the museum's line of exploring the Spanish avant-gardes, with precedents in exhibitions devoted to Rafael Canogar, Luis Feito or Juana Francés.
The Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga brings together in the Sala Noble of the Palacio de Villalón a selection of the work of Julio González (Barcelona, 1876 – Arcueil, France, 1942) focused on his work as a painter and draughtsman, the artist's least known side. The exhibition, titled «Julio González, pintor y dibujante», can be visited until January 17, 2027 and is part of the 150th anniversary of his birth.
The exhibition opens to the public this Thursday, October 22, from midday and after the opening press conference, and is the museum's last exhibition of the year.
25 pieces and a sculpture
The exhibition consists of 25 works: 11 paintings and 14 drawings, plus a sculpture, «Daphné» (1937), as evidence of the discipline that brought him international fame. All the pieces come from the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) in Madrid, which added them to its collection with the donation made by the artist's daughter, Roberta González, in 1973.
The tour shows González's pictorial evolution in three stages: a first one marked by French symbolism until the end of the First World War, in 1918; a second, the best known, in which he adopts Catalan noucentisme with small-format works highlighting women and the Mediterranean landscape; and a last one from 1928, when his pictorial production becomes sporadic and serves mainly as preparation for his sculptural work.
An avant-garde artist
A pioneer of modern iron sculpture, Julio González settled in Paris in 1900 and maintained a close relationship with Pablo Ruiz Picasso, which imbued much of his work with a cubist aesthetic. He also explored symbolism, noucentisme and structures typical of surrealism.
The museum's artistic director, Lourdes Moreno, has noted that the exhibition seeks to «honor the memory of a unique artist, indispensable for understanding the avant-gardes of the 20th century», and has stressed that his side as a painter and draughtsman is «practically unknown».
To visit the exhibition
The exhibition occupies the Sala Noble of the Palacio de Villalón and can be visited until January 17, 2027. Information about opening hours, tickets and access conditions corresponds to the Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga.
The programme includes a guided visit to the site with virtual reality on October 23 and 27, the family activity «¡Olé tú!» on the 24th, «Arte en movimiento. ¡Pies quietos!» on the 25th and a guided visit to the permanent collection on the 30th. All require advance online booking.
Primary and Secondary Education groups can register until October 30 for «Derivas sonoras», a collaborative project with Red Planea based on the participatory co-creation of the Towched programme, which links museum collections with Education for Sustainable Development and Human Rights. It will take place between the classroom and the museum through six work sessions with the centre's educators and the sound artist Luz Prado. Up to three groups will be selected, and they will be able to carry out the project from January, March or April.
Also this Thursday, October 22, the museum's Patio hosts a new concert in the «Pinceladas musicales» cycle, which the Museo Carmen Thyssen holds together with the Fundación Musical de Málaga. Under the title «Ecos de batallas», the group Malaka consort & Malaka voices will offer a repertoire centred on works from the 15th and 16th centuries, directed by Silvia Rodríguez Ariza and with period instruments such as recorders and the viola da gamba. Admission is free.
The Artes Vivas cycle continues on October 29 with «Juancaballo», a Spanish dance and flamenco piece by Juan Berlanga's company, winner of the Max 2026 Award for Best Male Performer, with dramaturgy by Alberto Conejero, National Prize for Dramatic Literature and author of «La piedra oscura», which inspired the film «La bola negra». The show, which draws on the Andalusian legend of the juancaballos, will begin at 20.30 and a discounted pass for the next three performances can still be purchased.
