Wlastimil Hofman, At the Crossroads / Old Man with a Water Jug, 1906, oil on canvas
Wlastimil Hofman, At the Crossroads / Old Man with a Water Jug, 1906, oil on canvas
Title: At the Crossroads / Old Man with a Watering Can / On the Road
Artist: Wlastimil Hofman
Date: 1906
Type: painting
Technique: oil on canvas
Dimensions: height: 146 cm, width: 140 cm
Artist: Wlastimil Hofman
Date: 1906
Type: painting
Technique: oil on canvas
Dimensions: height: 146 cm, width: 140 cm
This vertical painting depicts an elderly man standing in a vast, empty field on a cloudy autumn day. The dominant tones are brown, yellow, beige, grey and green. The figure is rendered with careful anatomical accuracy.
The man stands in the foreground, at the very centre of the composition. His figure spans the entire height of the painting. He is slightly hunched forward and turned about one-third to the left. He wears a brown hat whose brim hides his eyes. A portion of his nose and his left ear are visible beneath the brim. Wrinkles stretch downward from the nose. His mouth is obscured by dark moustache and a greying beard at the ends. He wears a knee-length light brown coat, with a black trim on the collar. Green shirt sleeves are visible beneath the coat. Over his right shoulder, the man carries a wooden watering can – a vessel used for transporting and storing liquids. The watering can has a cone-like shape without a tip and is approximately the length of his upper arm. A piece of cloth is attached to the can, slung over his left shoulder and extending down the length of the coat. The man grips the fabric with both hands at waist level. His legs, clad in tall black boots, emerge from beneath the coat.
He stands on an empty, harvested field. The earth is dark brown and yellow, with green streaks visible in the distance. Heavy grey clouds fill the sky. In the background, on the left side of the canvas, there are two blurry figures without clear detail. They stand near two boulders and a small, leafless tree. One figure stands upright, facing the viewer, wearing a long robe and a pair of white wings. It holds a scythe in its hand. Next to it, lying on the ground to the left, is a figure in green-blue clothing with bare feet.
In the lower right corner is the artist’s signature in black paint: “V. Hofmann 1906”.
The painting At the Crossroads reflects the spiritual character of the Young Poland movement, merging realism with metaphysics, and evokes the influence of Symbolism and meditation on the human condition. The crossroads in the title is to be understood symbolically, as a moment of existential hesitation. The winged figure in the distance may suggest the approach of death. The autumn field, already harvested, symbolises the nearing end of life. Hofman’s work is thus not only a realistic image, but also a symbolic one.
Source: Text by Irena Buchenfeld on the painting At the Crossroads.
Audio description: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Content consultation: Irena Buchenfeld
The man stands in the foreground, at the very centre of the composition. His figure spans the entire height of the painting. He is slightly hunched forward and turned about one-third to the left. He wears a brown hat whose brim hides his eyes. A portion of his nose and his left ear are visible beneath the brim. Wrinkles stretch downward from the nose. His mouth is obscured by dark moustache and a greying beard at the ends. He wears a knee-length light brown coat, with a black trim on the collar. Green shirt sleeves are visible beneath the coat. Over his right shoulder, the man carries a wooden watering can – a vessel used for transporting and storing liquids. The watering can has a cone-like shape without a tip and is approximately the length of his upper arm. A piece of cloth is attached to the can, slung over his left shoulder and extending down the length of the coat. The man grips the fabric with both hands at waist level. His legs, clad in tall black boots, emerge from beneath the coat.
He stands on an empty, harvested field. The earth is dark brown and yellow, with green streaks visible in the distance. Heavy grey clouds fill the sky. In the background, on the left side of the canvas, there are two blurry figures without clear detail. They stand near two boulders and a small, leafless tree. One figure stands upright, facing the viewer, wearing a long robe and a pair of white wings. It holds a scythe in its hand. Next to it, lying on the ground to the left, is a figure in green-blue clothing with bare feet.
In the lower right corner is the artist’s signature in black paint: “V. Hofmann 1906”.
The painting At the Crossroads reflects the spiritual character of the Young Poland movement, merging realism with metaphysics, and evokes the influence of Symbolism and meditation on the human condition. The crossroads in the title is to be understood symbolically, as a moment of existential hesitation. The winged figure in the distance may suggest the approach of death. The autumn field, already harvested, symbolises the nearing end of life. Hofman’s work is thus not only a realistic image, but also a symbolic one.
Source: Text by Irena Buchenfeld on the painting At the Crossroads.
Audio description: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Content consultation: Irena Buchenfeld