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Lot Essay
Although traditionally known as L'homme cactus, three letters from Gonzlez to his daughter, Roberta, refer to this sculpture as Monsieur cactus - the title by which it is now known. In the last of these letters dated August 24, 1939, Gonzlez wrote happily, "Monsieur Cactus is finished. Good news".
The ultimate expression of his outrage at the Spanish Civil War, the present work is also, along with its sister sculpture, Madame cactus (Homme cactus II), one of the last of the sculptures to be made in iron.
One of the very few decidedly male gender sculptures in the artist's oeuvre, Monsieur cactus displays a far starker and more sinister biomorphism than that of a work like L'homme gothique (Lot 564) which, in terms of its formal innovation as well as its gender, can in many ways be considered the present work's predecessor.
With its bold rectangular structures, its hair and prominent phallus, this solid and sturdy male figure speaks of the strength and spartan spirit of Catalonia which in its undaunted erectness symbolically conveys an attitude of stubborn defiance in the face of opposition. In this respect both the present work and Madame cactus form a dramatic counterpoint to Gonzlez's other sculptures on the theme of war; the Montserrats. These works, in their depiction of a terrified peasant woman, present the symbol of Catalonia as a defenceless victim of Fascist barbarity and unjust oppression.
With its barbed cactus forms, Monsieur cactus suggests both the hardiness and durability of the desert plants as well as the solidity and strength of human muscles. In addition, the thorns of the fruit, which Gonzlez has made from nails, simultaneously convey a sense of both outward defence and stigmatic pain in the manner of Sebastian's martyrdom. This, allied to the figure's rifle barrel-like fingers and the staunch posture of its rectilinear construction creates an archetypal form not only encapsulates a sense of the tragedy of Catalonia's oppression but also its formidable thorny spirit of resistance.
The ultimate expression of his outrage at the Spanish Civil War, the present work is also, along with its sister sculpture, Madame cactus (Homme cactus II), one of the last of the sculptures to be made in iron.
One of the very few decidedly male gender sculptures in the artist's oeuvre, Monsieur cactus displays a far starker and more sinister biomorphism than that of a work like L'homme gothique (Lot 564) which, in terms of its formal innovation as well as its gender, can in many ways be considered the present work's predecessor.
With its bold rectangular structures, its hair and prominent phallus, this solid and sturdy male figure speaks of the strength and spartan spirit of Catalonia which in its undaunted erectness symbolically conveys an attitude of stubborn defiance in the face of opposition. In this respect both the present work and Madame cactus form a dramatic counterpoint to Gonzlez's other sculptures on the theme of war; the Montserrats. These works, in their depiction of a terrified peasant woman, present the symbol of Catalonia as a defenceless victim of Fascist barbarity and unjust oppression.
With its barbed cactus forms, Monsieur cactus suggests both the hardiness and durability of the desert plants as well as the solidity and strength of human muscles. In addition, the thorns of the fruit, which Gonzlez has made from nails, simultaneously convey a sense of both outward defence and stigmatic pain in the manner of Sebastian's martyrdom. This, allied to the figure's rifle barrel-like fingers and the staunch posture of its rectilinear construction creates an archetypal form not only encapsulates a sense of the tragedy of Catalonia's oppression but also its formidable thorny spirit of resistance.