Ismael González de la Serna

Ismael González de la Serna was born in Guadix, Granada, on June 6, 1898, and died in Paris on November 30, 1968. A cousin of writer Ramón Gómez de la Serna, he grew up in Granada, where he became friends with poet Federico García Lorca and painter Manuel Ángeles Ortiz, later associating with figures such as Manuel de Falla and Andrés Segovia.

He studied at the Granada School of Arts and Crafts and completed his training at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid, where he worked as a copyist of great masters such as El Greco, Titian, Bosch, and Francisco de Zurbarán — an influence visible in his still lifes. In 1921 he moved to Paris, joining the School of Paris and associating with Picasso, Juan Gris, and Christian Zervos, who recognized and supported his work.

Until 1927 he lived through periods of financial hardship, but later experienced a time of great artistic flourishing, with numerous solo and group exhibitions across Spain and Europe. His work, which evolved from cubism toward surrealism and abstraction, is preserved today in institutions such as the Museo Reina Sofía.