Ngel Planells Art And The Surrealist Canon

Having been mistakenly perceived as a follower of Salvador Dalí, Catalan surrealist painter and writer Àngel Planells (1901–1989) has passed through the history of art practically unnoticed. Yet his work suggests an influence on a number of works by Dalí, proving that a fairer way to define their relationship is as an artistic dialogue. His participation in the groundbreaking International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936 is in itself a marker of his quality as an artist, but 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.

This series of books provides an invaluable guide to the world's great artists. Each volume contains a comprehensive introduction and a collection of great works, each of which is accompanied by an explanatory caption.

Surrealism was one of the most interesting and influential at movements of the 20th century. A collective adventure begun by a small group of intellectuals in Paris in the early 1920s, amongst them Max Ernst, Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali, its influence was felt through the rest of continental Europe and in Britain, the Americas, Mexico and Japan.

This broad collective exhibition reflects the vitality and vivacity of the art scene in all its complexity, displaying the different creative trends which took hold in the city inside and outside the School of Paris at a time of fervent political debate, held to the backdrop of the new global stage opened by the Cold War. From a broad array of artistic fields, from painting and sculpture to jazz, literature and film, foreign artists dealt with mounting tension by bringing their approaches and hopes to the Parisian milieu in an attempt to connect with the tradition of international modernism but without losing a grip on their own cultural identity.