Hopper, Edward
A Woman in the Sun
1961
Oil on canvas
40 x 60 inches
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Narrative:
A naked woman, without sacrificing her physicality, bathed in sunlight, represents the life of mind, soul and imagination.
By the first impression, the painting seemed to be simple because of its composition. When the viewer take a closer observation and do more thinking about the subject, one will suspect the reasons why the woman is naked yet still standing in front of an opened window staring at the view. By then, the viewer will join the woman in the journey of her mind, interested in understanding her feeling, where it is possible to be positive feelings or negative feelings or the both tangled together.
As of positive feelings, we can observed that she has an unmade bed bedside and high heels below that, on the addition to the fact that she is smoking, we can imagine that she has just had sex. From the guest lecturer on Wednesday, I was told that the naked woman is Edward Hopper’s wife, so she is actually not alone in the room; Hopper was in the room with her. Secondly, if the painting is expressed positively, we can suggest that the light from the window is a sunrise and she is just simply enjoying the view in relaxation.
As of negative feelings, the light from the window can be read as a sunset. Then the naked woman is unlikely to be admiring the view but she was carried away by her thoughts over something unpleasant. The high heels indicated that she is an urbanite that went to countryside. We can imagine that she is hiding away from something unpleasant, seeking for some peacefulness in her mind.
A Woman in the Sun
1961
Oil on canvas
40 x 60 inches
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Narrative:
A naked woman, without sacrificing her physicality, bathed in sunlight, represents the life of mind, soul and imagination.
By the first impression, the painting seemed to be simple because of its composition. When the viewer take a closer observation and do more thinking about the subject, one will suspect the reasons why the woman is naked yet still standing in front of an opened window staring at the view. By then, the viewer will join the woman in the journey of her mind, interested in understanding her feeling, where it is possible to be positive feelings or negative feelings or the both tangled together.
As of positive feelings, we can observed that she has an unmade bed bedside and high heels below that, on the addition to the fact that she is smoking, we can imagine that she has just had sex. From the guest lecturer on Wednesday, I was told that the naked woman is Edward Hopper’s wife, so she is actually not alone in the room; Hopper was in the room with her. Secondly, if the painting is expressed positively, we can suggest that the light from the window is a sunrise and she is just simply enjoying the view in relaxation.
As of negative feelings, the light from the window can be read as a sunset. Then the naked woman is unlikely to be admiring the view but she was carried away by her thoughts over something unpleasant. The high heels indicated that she is an urbanite that went to countryside. We can imagine that she is hiding away from something unpleasant, seeking for some peacefulness in her mind.
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