Juan Francisco González

Juan Francisco González Escobar (Santiago, Chile, September 25, 1853 – Santiago, March 4, 1933) is known as one of the four Great Chilean Masters and as the archetypal romantic bohemian artist of the early 20th century. He was the most prolific of the Chilean masters, leaving an estimated 4,000 works, and was also notable for being one of Chile's first modern painters. He was seen as a symbol of the new creative generation that appeared in 20th century Chile, with a style highly influenced by impressionism and local elements.

From the beginning, González worked in a free and flexible manner and did not stick rigidly to any particular techniques, giving him space to express his lively and restless personality. He took his attitude towards art as an attitude towards life and was considered by his successors as great example to follow.

As a master, he used to tell his students that to be a good painter, “first you must learn to observe and get excited about the colours and forms of nature, regardless of whether the picture and its details are accurate reflection of reality or not.”