A canonical figure in Catalan avant-garde sculpture, Juli González's work also includes incursions into other fields, such as painting, precious metals and drawing. His graphic production stands out for the large number of pastel drawings, a technique he mastered to perfection and which he adapted, through the use of colour, to bring volume and depth to his compositions. Although it belongs to his figurative period, this Self-portrait foreshadows the experimental dimension that distinguishes the way he conceived the creative process. Begun in 1910, this drawing reflects an evolving work that was to culminate in 1919, although the figurative form of the portrait dates it to between 1914 and 1917.