Vieillard et pierres précieuses c. 1966

Salvador Dalí made this watercolour, Vieillard et pierres précieuses, sometime in the 20th century and its all about colour, and mood. It looks like he started by wetting the paper first, then dropping colour in, letting it bleed, and layering again and again, like staining. I wonder if Dalí was trying to capture some sort of psychological state. It could almost be a self-portrait, right? The heavy blues and reds give the painting a somber quality, like the weight of the world is bearing down on this old guy. His tears are gemstones and his head is crowned by one too - maybe this makes him a king? It reminds me a bit of the Symbolists, those painters who were also into dreams and the subconscious. There's a sense of mystery here, and a feeling that there's more than meets the eye. Painting is like that, a conversation across time. Each artist adds their own voice, and the dialogue keeps going.