Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012) was a Catalan painter, sculptor, and art theorist, and is regarded as one of the most important European artists of the post-war era. After surrealist beginnings, he turned to abstract art in the early 1950s and became a leading exponent of Art Informel and matter painting. His work is characterized by the so-called pintura matèrica, in which he mixed marble dust, sand, and clay with paint and incorporated everyday objects such as string, paper, and cloth into his pictures.

In 1948, in Barcelona, Tàpies was among the co-founders of the avant-garde group Dau al Set, which was closely tied to Surrealism. His works combine an archaic, material visual language with symbolic signs, crosses, and letters, and often carry a political dimension shaped by his Catalan identity. In 1984 he established the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona, dedicated to his work and life. He remains one of the most influential Spanish artists of the twentieth century, and works by Tàpies are represented in major museums worldwide and rank among the most sought-after and value-stable positions in post-war European art for collectors.