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De Botton and Hopper
Unfortunately, I do not know the painter Hopper, therefore it is harduous to express comments on his artworks. I do not remember Hopper when I studied art’s history at school. Perhaps, the school programs are focused on European art, while American painters and movements start emerging as from the II WW. Neither I happen to see his paintings in some museum or art exhibition.
From my point of view, Hopper is an original painter. He painted his canvas in the 10’s and 20’s, when new movements shook the art panorama: expressionism, cubism, surrealism, abstractism and so on.
I see why some critics call Hopper “kitsch”: although the fad of new movements, he stayed clinged to the painting as a figurative art. While all the painters in that period competed with new techniques (abstract and informal art), Hopper kept capturing the essence from people in their loneliness dimension. He swimmed against the tide? Yes, but that does not mean his art is kitsch or petty. And yet, I think that Hopper conveys well the human anguish after the I WW and the fall of the ancient world. He shows moments of aloneness, afar from the crowd, men and women depicted in their intimacy.
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3 Replies
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Well-expressed @onorati66 and some nice use of vocabulary – it was a pleasure to read. (I think you could be right about the school programme being Eurocentric). I completely agree with you – I think he caught the anguish of normal people in a post-war world – universal emotions.
Let’s have a look at some corrections:
> harduous – spelling > arduous ✅
> art’s history – we use this as a compound noun > art history ✅
> Neither have I happened to see his paintings in ANY museum or art exhibition
(You must use present perfect here – do you know why?)
❌ he stayed clinged to the painting as a figurative art
⚠️ Cling is an irregular verb: cling, clang, clung
✅You can either say: he stayed clinging to …. or he clang to ….
He swimmed against the tide? – great expression. But swim is also irregular:
Swim swam swum
Good piece Roberto 👍
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Many thanks Kerin.
“Neither have I happened to see…”, it sounds definitely better. Maybe, the present perfect is fit in this context as I talk about my experience up to now, the time of the experience is not important.
Cling, swim…🙄 how many irregular verbs? Paying attention to them…
Roberto
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Yes, that’s exactly right for the present perfect!
(irregular verbs … they are a pain indeed! Good you are paying attention to them!)
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