Edward Hopper was the grandson of an American Baptist church planter and pastor in Nyack, New York. As a young man he spent several years (1906-1910) in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. When in Paris, he lived on the fourth floor of the building adjoining the Baptist Church at 48 rue de Lille, just above where Jean and I lived in 2004-2005. The top image above is a painting done by Hopper from his apartment at the church; the one below is a photo taken from ours. Notice the details in the windows, the chimneys, the iron grill.
This geographical coincidence led to my fascination with Hopper and his work. As I look at the print of a Hopper painting of a lighthouse (on of his favorite subjects) on my study wall, I see an empty sky. No clouds, no sun. It might be uniformly overcast, or it could be untouched canvas. And the lighthouse thrusts up into these empty heavens in hope of seeing what might be over the sharp (and empty) horizon.
Hopper's works very often lead the eyes away from the painting itself, as if what was most interesting was there, unseen...
I would be interested in a conversation about artists readers of this blog especially appreciate. Any takers?
3 comments:
I would love to see your painting. I am intrigued by lighthouses in general. Perhaps partly because they are always all large bodies of water that I love, but I would think that it is because they help guide us. Kinkade of course has done some, but Ben Richmond from the Marblehead, OH has been an artist I have appreciate for some time.
I love Morning Sun, always have. Is she sad? Is she thinking about renewal? Notice how barren the walls are. Same with Rooms by the Sea. Was does it mean to have the water RIGHT at the door? That you can go from solitude to vast openness in a blink?
iluvmiracles - Hopper's Morning Sun is in the Columbus Museum of Art. I hope you have seen it there if you are here in Columbus. I was able to attend a major exposition of Hopper's work a couple of years ago. The difference between the actual painting and prints in a book is huge.
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