The artwork entitled “Crepuscular Old Man” was created by Salvador Dali between 1917 and 1918. This piece is categorized within the Expressionism art movement and specifically belongs to the genre of portraiture.
The artwork depicts an elderly man, bent forward with the weight of age, leaning heavily on a staff. His figure is enveloped in what appears to be a black cloak, which merges with the shadowy backdrop, possibly indicating the twilight of his life, as suggested by the title “Crepuscular,” meaning pertaining to twilight. The figure’s head is bowed, perhaps in fatigue or contemplation, and is rendered with an emphasis on the tactile aspect through thick impasto, providing a sense of the physicality and weight of his experience.
The background is a patchy array of colors, contrasting with the dark silhouette of the man. These abstract shapes and colors do not form a cohesive background scene but instead seem to serve as an emotional landscape, representing the internal state of the subject rather than his physical surroundings. The heavy brushstrokes and the use of contrasting colors are expressive of the emotional charge typical of the Expressionist movement, which aimed to evoke subjective emotions rather than to accurately represent reality.
The title, coupled with the representation of the figure, suggests themes of aging, the passage of time, and perhaps solitude or resignation. The application of paint conveys a sense of urgency and intensity, characteristic of Expressionism, where the artist’s emotional experience is poured onto the canvas, forgoing detail for raw expression.
