Àngel Planells i Cruañas was born in Cadaqués, Spain, on December 2, 1901, the same small coastal town that produced Salvador Dalí. He grew up surrounded by artists like Eliseu Meifrèn and Joan Roig i Soler, who were friends of his father. In 1918, he went to Barcelona to study painting, lithography, and engraving, but had to return home due to money problems. Despite this setback, he never gave up on his art.
Planells met Salvador Dalí in Cadaqués and later encountered René Magritte there as well. He published his first surrealist poems and art criticism in 1928 in the local magazine Sol Ixent. His first solo exhibition took place in 1930 at the Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona. In 1936, he joined the Logicofobista group, a collective of Catalan surrealist artists that included Remedios Varo.
That same year, Planells exhibited three paintings, including “Midday Sorrow”, at the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London. This was the most important surrealist exhibition of its time. The painting was later owned by Roland Penrose, one of the exhibition’s organizers. “Midday Sorrow” now hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, a testament to Planells’ place in surrealist history. His use of astronomy and fantastic scenes, reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe, makes his work truly original.
“Planells’ contribution to surrealism is remarkable for his use of astronomy, fantastic scenes redolent of Edgar Allan Poe’s narrative as well as ludic elements and meta-pictorial techniques that contest Fascism.”
Since 1929, Planells lived in Blanes, where he worked as a professor at the School of Arts. After the Spanish Civil War, he painted landscapes and still lifes for many years. It wasn’t until 1974, at the age of 73, that he returned to surrealism. He died in Barcelona on July 23, 1989, at the age of 87. Despite being overshadowed by Dalí, Planells deserves recognition as an independent and original surrealist voice.
Q: What is Angel Planells best known for?
A: He is best known for his surrealist paintings that feature astronomy, fantastic scenes, and meta-pictorial techniques. His work “Midday Sorrow” was exhibited at the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936.
Q: Was Planells just a follower of Dalí?
A: No. Although he grew up in the same town as Dalí, Planells developed his own distinctive surrealist style. Scholars now argue he deserves to be considered independently from Dalí due to his early engagement with surrealism and the originality of his work.