Automat, Edward Hopper (1927), oil on canvas 71.4x91.4cm For further information: Taschen book: amzn.to/373n4bo Are you interested in art books? Subscribe to our Telegram channel: t.me/libridarte Description of the work: “Automat” is in my opinion one of the most intriguing paintings by the American painter Edward Hopper. I consider two aspects of the painting crucial and fundamental: the protagonist, a woman who is sitting alone at a table with a cup, and the large window that hangs behind her. The painting is titled "Automat" or a kind of diner very common in New York in the 1920s and was exhibited in the second solo exhibition created by Hopper at the beginning of 1927. We are therefore still in the first phase of Hopper's career. artist was already 45 years old (born 1882). Hopper made several study trips to Europe, especially France, the last of which was in 1910. Back in the United States he worked for a long time as an illustrator. It was only in 1925, two years before this painting was made, that he had begun to make a living from painting. The woman is inside an Automat. a cafeteria where the patrons could serve themselves directly through the vending machines of food and drinks. Automats were widespread in New York as early as the early 1900s and the photos of the time confirm consistency with the furniture that we see represented in the painting. The protagonist is therefore alone and seated at a table, in front of her an empty chair. The woman brings with her some contradictory, ambiguous elements. On the one hand, for example, she still has a cloche hat, a coat with cuffs and a fur collar and even a glove. This could make us think that her in her club is a fleeting stay, just the time to drink a cup of coffee (or a cup of tea we don't know). On the other hand, we notice that there is also an empty saucer on the table and this makes us think that you have eaten something, perhaps a slice of cake and that therefore your stay in the room is longer. The woman is also on one side covered by clothes as we have seen, but she too leaves parts of her body uncovered: the neckline and the legs crossed under the table, a voyeuristic hint that is present in several of Hopper's paintings. The protagonist is elegantly dressed and wearing makeup but we don't know exactly if she is out of work or if she is waiting for someone. The clothes she wears make us think of a winter day with a few hours of light; so it could be evening or night, but also late afternoon or early morning. The presence of a radiator on the ground makes us think that the environment is heated and therefore that the choice to stay dressed is not linked to the need to cover up as to a state of indecision about what to do: I'll stay, I'll go, I'll wait ... who knows. The woman has chosen a fairly particular position inside the room, between the door on the left, from which drafts could arrive and a staircase behind her that seems to lead to the lower floor. On the whole of the scene, in this corner of the room, a sense of emptiness dominates. Just in front of her we notice a chair that tells us that potentially there could be someone. We cannot even rule out that the place is crowded but certainly Hopper's intention is to totally isolate the figure and investigate it on a psychological level. The large window, from this point of view, is very interesting because it reflects only two rows of artificial lights from the room. We see nothing of what is happening outside, not a light, not a passer-by, not a car or another window across the sidewalk. The large window does not even reflect the woman. It is just a large screen where, in my opinion, the woman's mood is symbolically projected. That double sequence of lights makes me think of the same thoughts as the protagonist who outwardly stares at the cup of coffee she holds in her hand but which inwardly reflects or fantasizes about her who knows what. That double row of reflected lights could just represent an unresolved conflict that she is thinking about, the double path of his thoughts and her emotions. Automat is therefore a painting where, starting from everyday reality represented by a diner, Hopper stages a very introspective situation. In this painting, however, a sense of restless expectation prevails, of intimate reflection. Hopper takes us inside a room and if we want to corner the protagonist, isolating her from the rest of the world, freezing her state of mind on canvas, a fragment of her life. The woman's thoughts, her trepidation and indecision, become living and pulsating matter in the painting. And in us spectators a movement of sincere empathy is triggered towards her. Contact us and follow us here: Email: info1000quadri@gmail.com Instagram: / 1000quadri Facebook: / 1000quadri
14 окт 2020
