Ismaėl Gonzalez Serna
Spanische Burg, 1927/28

Alfred Flechtheim and Ismaėl Gonzalez Serna

The Spanish painter Ismael Gonzales de la Serna, who is little known today, initially studied as the academy in Madrid before moving to Paris in 1918. His artistic work is influenced by Pablo Picasso and George Braque whose Cubist style was adopted by many other artists. De la Serna’s paintings are marked by their abstract style based mainly on still lifes and landscapes.

It is well known that Alfred Flechtheim was a great admirer of Picasso. A plethora of other Spanish artist following in his tracks in Paris settled as a consequence in Paris. Apart from Ismael de la Serna these included Juan Gris, José de Togores and Manolo, whose works were sold by Alfred Flechtheim in Germany and Kahnweiler in Paris. De la Serna’s works were exhibited several times in group exhibitions in Flechtheim’s galleries, the last time being in 1932/33 at the ‘New Spanish Art’ exhibition.