The Old Men

A painter originally from Piemonte, Ettore Beraldini (1887-1965) moved to Verona where he studied at the Accademia Cignaroli under the guidance of Alfredo Savini. Right from the start, his production was oriented towards a veristic narrative on the everyday life of the "latest", the elderly and children. It was in hospices and asylums that the artist studied the tormented subjects of his canvases: the themes he dealt with (illness, madness, social marginalisation and the horrors of war) brought him closer to the German Expressionism, from which he also borrowed a pictorial sign charged with emotional intensity. In the painting, "The Old Men", displayed at the Venice Biennale in 1912, the artist reflects on the theme of old age and shows his adherence to Savini's Symbolist interpretation. He chose a cold palette and a drafting devoid of the brilliance that characterises genre painting, a clear departure from the Venetian painting in vogue during his time.