Raised left hand
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| Raised left hand | |
|---|---|
 Julio González, c. 1942, Raised Left Hand, bronze cast, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, donated by Roberta González, daughter of the artist, 1972; admission, 1973 | |
| Artist | Julio González |
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | sculpture |
| Medium | bronze |
| Subject | hand |
| Location | Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona |
Raised Left Hand is a bronze sculpture by Julio González displayed in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, created in 1942, the year of his death. This work of art was created as a plaster cast, and then later cast in bronze. It is unclear if the when or if the artist cast the final sculpture. Other sculptures created within the last months of the artist's life were cast in bronze posthumous. For example, the other monumental sculpture created in this period, Head of the Montserrat, II, was cast in bronze after the artist's death.[1]
The artwork, like many other plaster casts González created between 1940 and 1942, embodies the artist's own feelings towards the injustice of war.[2] By 1942, the artist witnessed the destruction of his native country through the Spanish Civil War, and then again in the beginning of the Second World War. The artist was directly affected by the latter war; his daughter and son-in-law went into hiding shortly after World War II began leaving the artist alone as his health failed; this is because his son-in-law was a known anti-Nazi, and thus was being sought by the German secret police.[3] At this time, the artist began to focus on figurative drawings and plaster castings. The art produced during the last two years of his life are testimonies to the suffering and despair González felt towards tyranny and war.[4] His last casts suggest the extent of despair and terror he felt and witness; these include the La Montserrat Shouting, Abstract Figure, and the Raised Left Hand.[5]
