The Hopper-Ville Express
Casey Cassidy
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Give FeedbackSynopsis of Hopper’s Paintings
Each week a preselected Hopper painting will be employed as the central focus of a teacherled classroom discussion. As we proceed throughout our curriculum unit, Hopper’s formulative years, his thematic approaches, and his compositional techniques will be applied to each classroom learning experience. If available, slides will also be used to highlight style and compositional techniques.
Self Portrait (19251930)
In Hopper’s
SelfPortrait.
one cannot tell whether he is sitting or standing. He is viewed from left to right, from foreground diagonally inward, and because he is wearing a hat, we assume that he is just arriving or just leaving. His eyes give us the appearance that he is looking into a mirror—perhaps the mirror or reflection of his life. His hat, in casting a shadow over his eyes, acts as sort of a mask—perhaps a mask of inner feelings.
House by the Railroad (1925)
In this composition, a mangardroofed Victorian house stands along the dramatic edge of the railroad tracks. The tracks cut diagonally inward to create a deeper space. By 1925, this nineteenth century house is reminiscent of America’s past—a time left behind by “modern urban life.” This canvas allows the viewer a glimpse back into time as if it was viewed by a passing traveler.
Hills, South Truro (1930)
The
Hills, South Truro
is a very beautiful piece of countryside/seaside landscape. It shows a railroad track, a house, and rolling hills leading to the sea. The entire composition is simple—yet simply magnificent.
Railroad Sunset (1929)
In this painting, Hopper used a simple horizontal format with the railroad tracks cutting across the composition—much like the railroads were cutting across the rural farmlands of America. Perhaps the sunset is signifying the end of an era as America was entering the Great Depression.
Early Sunday Morning (1930)
Early Sunday Morning
was constructed on a horizontal plane utilizing dramatic sunlight and shadow techniques. The row of small, serviceoriented shops with curtains hanging in the apartment windows above suggest a lively, enduring strength of small time business entrepreneurs that managed to withstand the difficulties of the Great Depression. The continuous line of shops extending beyond the borders of the composition suggest that the reconstruction of America and the return to prosperity may well lay in the hands of the small businessmen and service community.
Gas (1940)
In the 1940 highway painting
Gas,
Hopper suggests the anxious feelings of traveling on a lonely country road at night. The Mobil gas station indicates the extent to which the automobile was traveling throughout America.
Nighthawks (1942)
The setting of
Nighthawks
suggest the vulnerability of people out alone at night. The lunch counter is an oasis of light in the midnight city. Strong light, both fluorescent and street, falls on the four characters spotlighting each of them. The couple whose hands almost touch accentuate the loneliness of the solitary diner across the country. Hopper, when he was painting this masterpiece, remarked that he didn’t see the street as particularly lonely but he later suggested that unconsciously, he was probably painting the loneliness of a large city.
Western Motel (1957)
Western Motel
continues Hopper’s concern for the automobile and the world that it has created. The painting is situated much as if one was to photograph a woman sitting on a bed near a window with a mountain view to suggest that the woman was a typical tourist. The two suitcases and the double bed suggest that the artist was there as well.
Sunlight in the Cafeteria (1958)
In
Sunlight in the Cafeteria,
Hopper used the restaurant setting to portray the tensions or the awkward first meeting between a man and a woman. Each person, while sensing each other’s presence, has not as yet “broken the ice.” He gazes over towards the window, holding a burning cigarette, and she lingers on, having finished her coffee. The sunlight, as it falls diagonally into the room, highlights the drama within.
Two Comedians (1965)
In
Two Comedians.
the tall comedian bows and gestures to the female, who shyly returns the gesture. The painting suggests that all of Hopper’s works were a collaborative venture that required the efforts of both of them. At this time, Hopper knew that he was sick and would die shortly. This painting was their farewell in that he would die in 1967 and Jo would follow him in 1968.