62
Ismael Gonzalez De La Serna (Spanish, 1898-1968)
Estimate:
€1,500 - €2,000
Sold
€2,200
Live Auction
The Ernie O'Malley Collection in association with Christie's
Size
12 by 8.50in. (30.5 by 21.6cm)
Description
Title: VIEW FROM A WINDOW OF A TERRACE, 1933
Note: Born in Spain, Ismael González "de la" Serna studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Granada, Spain. Whilst at school Serna befriended the famous poet Federico Garcia Lorca, whose first book, Impresiones y Paisajes was illustrated by González. After visiting the French Impressionists exhibition in Madrid in 1917, Serna became more focused on developing a ‘free’ artistic style. In 1921 he moved to Paris, rarely returning to Spain. In Paris he was a member of the avant garde group, Spanish School of Paris. During this period he was influenced by the Cubist artists George Braque and fellow Spaniard, Pablo Picasso. It is claimed by the art critic Teriad, that Picasso declared “at last, a true painter! As grand as Juan Gris!” Serna exhibited widely in the 1920s with much success. Paul Guillaume, a renowned Parisian art dealer of Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, organised an exhibition of fifty of his works. This lead to him exhibiting in the Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris in 1936, and the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition in 1937. Later an individual exhibition at the Gallery Flechtheim in Berlin, which was sold out. In his later years there was a retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts in Mexico in 1956, which was soon followed by another retrospective at the Tate Gallery in London in 1963. In 1964 he became wheelchair bound after a long battle with cerebral palsy. After his death, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris held a retrospective exhibition.
Note: Born in Spain, Ismael González "de la" Serna studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Granada, Spain. Whilst at school Serna befriended the famous poet Federico Garcia Lorca, whose first book, Impresiones y Paisajes was illustrated by González. After visiting the French Impressionists exhibition in Madrid in 1917, Serna became more focused on developing a ‘free’ artistic style. In 1921 he moved to Paris, rarely returning to Spain. In Paris he was a member of the avant garde group, Spanish School of Paris. During this period he was influenced by the Cubist artists George Braque and fellow Spaniard, Pablo Picasso. It is claimed by the art critic Teriad, that Picasso declared “at last, a true painter! As grand as Juan Gris!” Serna exhibited widely in the 1920s with much success. Paul Guillaume, a renowned Parisian art dealer of Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, organised an exhibition of fifty of his works. This lead to him exhibiting in the Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris in 1936, and the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition in 1937. Later an individual exhibition at the Gallery Flechtheim in Berlin, which was sold out. In his later years there was a retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts in Mexico in 1956, which was soon followed by another retrospective at the Tate Gallery in London in 1963. In 1964 he became wheelchair bound after a long battle with cerebral palsy. After his death, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris held a retrospective exhibition.
Medium
gouache
Signature
signed and dated [XXXIII (33)] upper right
Provenance
Purchased in Paris by Ernie O’Malley, 1938;
Gifted from The Estate of Ernie O’Malley to Christopher Smith, 1957;
Thence by family descent
