Hopper's Room in Brooklyn

  Today's painting is Edward Hopper's:  Room in Brooklyn.  It is an oil on canvas and is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, painted 1932.
   Hopper is one of my favorite American artists, and for the purpose of this writing, I want to put aside all I know, and just examine this image.
   The composition is amazing.  It is built on rectangles and lines. Framed by two white vertical lines, they are repeated in size by the brown window frames. The top is cemented with the shades, notice the two on the left and right are exactly the same, with the left one slightly lighter in color.   The top half is all window, with the horizontal brown lines dividing that space.   The exact middle, and all inside the window frame is the woman's head, the top of the far buildings and the flowers.   In the lower section, the base is the same basic color as the shades, with the rectangle of light pulling our attention down.
   So, what is this painting about?   Here our imagination can go wild.  What we know is that it seems to be a bright, sunny day and because we see a bit of the tops of the buildings across the street, we know we are not on a ground floor, maybe third floor, maybe more.  The flowers look fresh, the white vase pure.  But she is separated from them, secluded to the left side of the window, with her back to us.  Very dramatic!
    What do you think?  Who is this woman and where is she?  Is this her home, a hotel room, an office?  There is no motion, no sound, not even an open window or drapery.  Why are we allowed into this private space.  Please take a moment and send me your thoughts.  I am anxious to read what YOU think.                  Make Art a part of your life,  it's a beautiful thing to do!

Comments

  1. charguthApril 25, 2019 at 1:00 PM

    Hopper's paintings are always puzzling because of the information he leaves out. My mind wants to add some movement or noise; more details in the room or birds in the sky. I think the woman is reading, but where? Not an office, not a home. She is sitting in a rocking chair and formally dressed; maybe its a special living center, hence the fresh flowers. Always intriguing. I like him too.

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  2. JudithMarie5April 27, 2019 at 11:34 AM

    Hopper also remains one of my favorite artists. Given his birth year of 1882, this quiet painting was done at age 50 when he had years of illustration jobs behind him and had settled into the style we know him for. I see his natural reserve and I see the still scenes from the matinee movies he loved to attend. Knowing his attraction to light and shadows, I am attracted to these aspects of his work. including the serene unknown and the feeling the paintings evoke. Hopper said that “great art is the outward expression of the inner life of the artist.”

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