Edward Hopper
In the description of Gustave Caillebotte's painting earlier this week we mentioned Edward Hopper in the context of the loneliness of a modern man in a busy city. So here he is with a painting entitled Shakespeare at Dusk. The masterpiece captures the visual poetry of twilight in a large city; the scene is set at the “golden hour” of dusk, that most transitional time of day. This Central Park scene belongs to Hopper's celebrated series of New York cityscapes. It is subject matter he explored early in his career and continued until his death in 1967. The artist's evocative pictures of modern America have a haunting appeal, so firmly are they embedded in the cultural imagination. As one of the most famous Hopper's scholars put it: “Hopper’s mature cityscapes were generally undisturbed by human presence. There is often an eerie feeling born of this desertion, this absence of activity” (Gail Levin, Edward Hopper: The Art and the Artist, New York, 1980, p. 45).
Have a calm Saturday everyone!
P.S. Did you know, before Hopper became a successful painter he started out as an illustrator? Discover Hopper's unknown illustrations!
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