By Matthew Rosario
Edward Hopper is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable American artists of his time, especially of the Realism movement to which his works contributed. The Realism movement was a counter reaction to the romantic movement characterized by exaggerated emotionalism and instead focused on a more contemporary and “realistic” point of view with ordinary people and storytelling being the main focus during this period. His most popular work being “Nighthawks” depicting a diner viewed from the street looking in and seeing various figures sitting around the diner late at night. Born on July 22, 1882 in the small town of Nyack, New York he was born in a well off family as the son of a merchant. As a boy he excelled in school and showed an interest in art at the age of 5, which was instantly supported by his parents especially his mother who herself was artistic and supplied him everything he would need to pursue his passion. Later hopper would go on to study at New York School of Art and Design (now known as “Parsons School of Design”) where he would learn not only to how to oil paint which would become his most famous medium but the philosophy he would use in his art taught to him by Robert Henri who said "It isn't the subject that counts but what you feel about it"
Out of all of Hopper's works I personally feel like “Soir Bleu” (translated: Blue Evening) is Hopper's most thought provoking work. Like most of Hopper's work this painting presents the idea of loneliness but in a way that is more unique and interesting because we are presented with the idea of being lonely in a room full of people. The painting shows us an outside dinner party scene with multiple people sitting around tables with a clown sitting to the right of center dressed in an all white jumpsuit and a white painted face with red lips and eyes. The painting is painted at an eye level perspective but all the figures are kept in the mid ground almost like the viewer is at this event but looking from a distance making you feel isolated from the events and people in the work. As you look closer at the painting you can start to see who the people in the photo are. On the very right there are two people, a man and a woman, sitting together at a table alone. From their attire you can assume that they are wealthy or “well adjusted”. Moving from the right to the left there is another table at which the previously mentioned clown is sitting at. You can see the back of a man in a dark blue suit with epaulets that signify some sort of military affiliation and to his left is another man with a black beret and black clothes, possibly an artist type. Standing in front of them is a woman dressed in a green dress. All the way to the far left of the painting is a man sitting at a table alone, in hoppers sketches this man is labeled at “mackerel” or a type of “pimp” meaning that the woman in a dress could be a sex worker.
All the characters are their own individuals and yet none of them interact with each other. Different from the loneliness you feel when you don't get invited to an event, this loneliness is when you show up and no one, including you, wants to be there. Everyone is together and yet they all are alone in their own individual ways. The main character of the clown has a distinctively melancholic feel to it which can be attributed to the cigarette hanging out of the clown's mouth as well as the spaced out look in his eyes. This feeling is magnified when you consider the typical image of a clown being cheerful, bubbly and silly contrasted with this defeated and worn out look of the clown in this work. The painting as a whole was a personal challenge for Hopper who wished to challenge himself with a bigger canvas size like his peers Picasso and Matisse. During this point in Hopper's career he hadn't had too much commercial success with his own work so the image of a defeated entertainer could be something that Hopper related to and envisioned himself to be. In an ironic coincidence after the debut of this painting critics were quick to dismiss this work as “ambitious fantasy” and Soir Bleu would not be viewed again for the rest of Hopper's lifetime. This sad clown could once again not entertain his audience