Ángeles Santos Torroella (7 November 1911 – 3 October 2013) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

painter. Born in Portbou,

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, she was the sister of the poet and art critic Rafael Santos Torroella. She married the painter Emili Grau Sala. Her son is the painter Julià Grau i Santos. In 2003 she received the

Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts The Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts () is awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featurin ...

, awarded by the Ministry of Culture of Spain: and in 2005, the

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English language, English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gold Medal of the G ...

, awarded by the Government of Catalonia.

Biography

She was introduced to was introduced to drawing at the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception boarding school in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. In 1927, she moved to

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, and there she took private lessons from the Italian painter Cellino Perotti. In 1929 Santos Torroella presented her work ''Un Mundo (A World)'' at the Autumn Salon in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. In this city she integrated into intellectual circles and made friends such as

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

and Juan Ramón Jiménez. The next year she was given her own room at the exhibition. In 1931 she held a solo exhibit in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1932, she participated in the Iberian Artists Collective in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and Paris, and the next year was invited to the exhibit at the Carnegie Institute in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(USA). In 1936, she exhibited at the Spanish Pavilion of the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

. She exhibited in Barcelona for the first time in 1935, at Syra Galleries. In 1936, at the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, Santos Torroella and her husband fled Spain for France. She returned to Spain by herself in 1937. The couple reunited in 1962.

Work

Her early work ranges from expressionism to surrealism, though it later moved into

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

, primordially landscape and interiors. Her most renowned painting is a large-format oil called ''Un mundo'', representing a strange surreal planet, which she painted when she was 18 and is currently held at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in

. She was often referred to as a ''Spanish Rimbaud.''

Works in museums

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía The ''Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía'' ("Queen Sofía National Museum Art Centre"; MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992, and is named for Queen Sofía. I ...

* :ca:Museu de l'Empordà,

Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...

Death

Santos Torroella died on 3 October 2013, at the age of 101.

References

External links

images of Ángeles Santos Torroella's work at The Museo Reina Sofía
1911 births 2013 deaths Painters from Catalonia Women artists from Catalonia Spanish women centenarians Spanish women painters People from Alt Empordà 20th-century Spanish women artists {{Catalonia-artist-stub