Angel Planells Cruanyes (1901 Cadaquès -1989 Barcelona) -nature Morte Aux Sardines- Circa 1930.

Still life with sardines - Circa 1930.

Oil on canvas signed lower left.
Stamp on the back "I GUARDIOLA -Ch Valencia -199 Barcelona"
Dimensions: 47 x 38 m, with frame: 69 x 61 cm.
Carved wooden frame.

The artist has depicted in this still life the familiar elements of the Catalan diet; of great sobriety, sardines, bread, peach and white wine take place on a neutral entablature and a blue background evoking the Spanish sky.

The elements seem to come to life. Even if the work is realistic, surrealism is present in this canvas as in all of the artist's work.

Angel Planells is a Catalan painter of surrealist compositions and landscapes and still lifes. He trained alongside Salvador Dali. The painter René Magritte also influenced his work. In 1932, he exhibited at the Daulmau gallery in Barcelona and took part in the Fine Arts exhibition.
He was present at the Salon des Indépendants in 1938. He also exhibited on several occasions in the Spanish cities of Madrid, Valencia as well as abroad in Paris and London. His early painting is surrealist then he goes through a very realistic period with a keen eye for detail before returning to surrealism in the 1950s.
Bibliography: - “Cien anos de pintura en España y Portugal (1830-1930) Tome VIII