Edward Hopper – Day After the Funeral

This painting was made by Edward Hopper in 1925 and is now part of a private collection. It was made with watercolor on paper. Edward Hopper is a realistic painter; however, he had his own beliefs about realism. Most believed that realism meant recreate exactly what you see exactly how it is. Edward Hopper believed realism shouldn’t be an exact copy of what you see, but rather an interpretation of what you see. His wife was the one who had pushed him to try new mediums, such as watercolor and helped further his career. I chose this painting because I like the subject. Most of his other paintings are architecturally based. While there is still a building and architecture present in this photo, the figure in the middle is the main focus. The stark contrast used to make the figure stand out against the background draws your attention to the figure. The muddled grey behind the hunched over figure adds to the weight of the painting and adds to the overall depressed, solemn, and lonely feel of the painting. I like how this painting conveys an heavy emotions, rather than a cheery ones. Edward Hopper said, “great art is the outward expression of an inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world”. I feel as though this painting shows a very different vision of his world, compared to some of his other pieces.