Edward Hopper: Research Point

Due to its atmosphere of impending drama, this aerial view Night Shadows (1921) could easily be a panel from a graphic novel. This evokes a feeling of mystery unravelling before our eyes. There is plenty of scope for the later addition of thought bubbles etc as the character in the hat considers where he has just been or where he is ultimately headed.

In 1923, after winning two prizes for etchings he had produced between 1915 and 1923, Hopper turned his attention back toward painting once more. The output from this was in turn influenced by his subject choices and compositions used for his etchings. I feel his work was over all influenced by the severe contrast necessary to produce outcomes with impact whilst printing using only black ink. These stark images speak of urban stories untold.

Here is what could easily be interpreted as either a representation of a couple about to be engaged in an embrace whilst travelling by night on a train, or an innocent and unsuspecting man being cornered and harassed by a strange woman. The atmosphere created by the composition hints equally at either narrative. Again, a caption would not not be out of place here.

Again, I refer back to my composition, Waterloo Sunset (2020) to show that these influences have made their mark, even if I was not aware of these artists at the time, their output is not unfamiliar to me from browsing online and from magazine articles on printmaking etc.

Landscapes such as these, once the addition of a figure or two has been made, become stories in the making as we ask ourselves, What? When? Who? Where? or Why?

References:

Edward Hopper | House Tops (2021) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/366214 (Accessed: 5 April 2021).

Edward Hopper | Night on the El Train (2021) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/366215 (Accessed: 5 April 2021).

Edward Hopper | Night Shadows (2021) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/366206 (Accessed: 5 April 2021).