He was born into a poor Catalan family. His fine arts abilities emerged when the artist was a child; his parents encouraged his hobby.
1901 - 1989
Angel Planells Cruanas
description
A Spanish (Catalan) artist, master of lithography and engraving, a representative of the large Emporda school of Surrealism.
When he was a teenager, he was a friend of Salvador Dali, who greatly influenced him. A little later, Angel Planells made friends with Rene Magritte and other Surrealist artists in Cadaqués.
The artist participated in exhibitions held in the cities of Spain and Paris. Three of his works were included in the First London Surrealist Exhibition. One of them was bought by an influential avant-garde collector and expert, the organizer of the vernissage, Roland Penrose; that was a real success and recognition of Planells’ originality.
The civil war in the artist’s homeland led to a significant break in his creative career that had begun successfully: at the times of Franco, the master could not work in the style of surrealism openly, created landscapes and still lifes. The artist returned to this style more thoroughly in the 1960s.
Being a shy person and introvert, Angel did not talk about his paintings; he almost never left his native places and always remained in the shadow of his great compatriot Salvador Dali. However, as noted in the preface to the vernissage of 70 paintings, “Surrealism in Catalonia. Artists of Emporda and S. Dali ”, which took place at the State Hermitage Museum (Russia, St. Petersburg) in 2016, Angel Planells was on the list of significant Surrealists after Dali.
Key ideas:
– Speaking of Spanish Surrealism, specialists have in mind primarily the so-called “Emporda School” – in the first half of the 20th century, the main center of surrealistic searches was exactly there. Angel Planells belonged to one of two branches at the place of his birth – in Cadekes (the second center of that school was in Figueres). The most important feature of the school was the commitment of its representatives to the artistic values of European art, which was also characteristic of Planells.
– Angel rarely created paintings without sea or at least water. He owed that passion to his teacher, Impressionist painter Eliseu Meifrèn, a passionate lover of the sea who discovered the wonderful corners of Cadaqués. The sea of Planells is always bright and cheerful – when it is visible only on the horizon, and when it “pours” into the room; for example, in the painting “Hamlet” of 1938.
– In the work of Planells, the ancient art of antiquity and the legends of his native places found a peculiar refraction, prompting completely fabulous and almost always unrealistic plots and landscapes. The nature of Catalonia awakened the creative imagination of the artist and made his paintings original.
– Returning to the style of surrealism by the mid-1960s after the period of creating landscapes and still lifes, the artist re-painted familiar plots, using new meanings in them. For example, a rider in his uniform again (Journey of a Dreams, 1936) again travels through the desert; however, now a huge planet accompanies him and a real girl is waiting for him at the window (Journey, Disaster and Sleep, 1967).
1901
1916
1918
1920
1928
1929
1930
1934
1936
1970
1974
1989
He was born into a poor Catalan family
He started learning arts
He started learning arts, trying to become an engraver, but after two and a half years became interested in painting, which became the most important thing in the artist’s career.
He went to Barcelona
He went to Barcelona to study painting, but was soon forced to return to Cadeques due to economic problems. Eliseu Meifren, an Impressionist artist in love with the sea, influenced his art.
He met Salvador Dali
He met Salvador Dali, whose work became an example for him; a little later, in Cadaqués, he met Rene Magritte and other artists ranked by art critics as members of the large and significant Catalan Emporda school of Surrealism.
He wrote and published some of his articles
He wrote and published some of his articles on art criticism in magazines, and also published his first surrealistic poems; later on, he left literature.
Participated in the first collective exhibitions at the galleries of Dalmau
Participated in the first collective exhibitions at the galleries of Dalmau in Barcelona and in Girona. Living in Blanes, worked as a teacher at the School of the Arts; a little later, he became a professor.
The first individual exhibition
The first individual exhibition in the artist’s career took place at the Barcelona Gallery Dalmau. The public and critics approved the exhibition, even though there were also negative reviews.
He created several famous canvases
He created several famous canvases, including “The Half Day Sorrow”. It was presented two years later at the International exhibition of Surrealists in London. Roland Penrose, one of the main organizers of the event, purchased the picture.
He became a member of the new art association Exposició Logicofobista
He became a member of the new art association Exposició Logicofobista in Barcelona. The group immediately held its first exhibition, where three paintings by Planells were presented. They planned to transfer the exposition to Madrid and other Spanish cities, but the civil war interrupted the project. In the same year, the artist participated in the first International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Gallery in London.
Left teaching at the School of Fine Arts
Left teaching at the School of Fine Arts and began to engage more in creativity.
The old artist met Rene Metre
The old artist met Rene Metre, a French gallery owner and a connoisseur of Surrealism. Having never completely departed from the style he chose in the 1930s, the artist created dozens of new surrealistic canvases over the last 15 years of his life, choosing plots that were already famous in the 1930s.
The death of the artist
He died on July 23, 1989 in Barcelona, Spain.