Sunset 1891

Franz von Stuck painted this artwork, Sunset, using oil on canvas. The composition reveals a landscape cloaked in shadow, where the setting sun casts a horizontal band of orange and violet tones across the upper register. This light silhouettes the trees and sets a mood of quietude. The centaur, a motif recurrent in Stuck’s oeuvre, stands in the middle ground. The light catches the pale equine form, and the darker human torso above. Here, Stuck plays with contrast and form, and the centaur embodies hybridity and transition. We observe a liminal being caught between worlds, nature and culture. The brushstrokes are visible and the texture of the canvas creates a surface which engages with the philosophical discourse of its time, reflecting the Symbolist movement's interest in myth, the subconscious, and the synthesis of opposing elements. This fusion mirrors the intellectual currents of the era, which questioned established norms and categories.