Product Description Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper illuminates the life and work of one of America's most celebrated yet enigmatic artists. Through a close study of the themes, emotions, and imagery that preoccupied Hopper (1882-1967) throughout his life, Walter Wells presents many new insights, especially into the haunting silence and loneliness at the heart of the artist's vision.
Hopper's paintings are often described as belonging to a school of American realism, and were in part inspired by the works of European realists such as Gustave Courbet and Edouard Manet; however, the underlying themes of loneliness, melancholy, and silence that pervade his works also recall the surrealist, dreamlike images of Giorgio de Chirico. These elements of the dream world and the subconscious - psychological states that are intrinsic to all people, however little we understand them - may be what make Hopper's work so universally compelling. The paintings embody a particularly American sensibility; Hopper's evocative depictions of both urban and rural settings - including theatre interiors, railways, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, street scenes, and coastal landscapes - have become iconic images of early twentieth-century American culture.
Walter Wells' informative yet eminently readable monograph explores the many facets of Hopper's art, discussing from various perspectives his etchings, watercolors, and oil paintings, which represent a wide range of subjects. Particular attention is paid to the literary works from which Hopper took inspiration, as well as the ways in which the artist's own psychology and emotional states influenced his output.
Stunning with rich commentaryJuly 17, 2007 R. Miller(Caldwell ID) 29 out of 31 found this review helpful
The author, Walter Wells brings this art and this artist (Edward Hopper) into an almost molecular intimacy. People who like Hopper (usually fiercly) are commonly aware that Hopper was more or less an unfriendly cuss...but his stark, dark, flat,impoverished, humorless, and altogether fascinating works prevail upon us... so we need to know more. Here it is, in (250 plus)very large pages! The most popular of Hopper's paintings have kept many of us more than curious, willing to seek and hang his abundantly available prints, because his subjects and style create mystery, tension, the wonderment of a story...untold. (Hence the title "Silent Theatre") World renown and celebrated works, "Railroad Sunset", "Early Sunday Morning" and "Nighthawks"--or "High Noon". are all inside; discussed, compared, associated and dissected. The book begins with with a charming introduction concerned with Hopper's childhood and youth; his affinity for theatre and literature. From there,the author takes us into a grand array of about 175 paintings, and many etchings, (and relate works by other artists), divided into 15 genres of Hopper's craft and psyche. It is this organization that brings us into what I think is a masterful, beautifully written, account of the Man... his loves, his life, his work -- early, middle and late. How do I say it? --The book "stays after" Hopper, and gets into each painting in granular detail. ( I won't finish it for weeks, or...months. It is vast and thorough...and one can open it anywhere and spend an enjoyable few minutes..or an hour!
Silent Theater: The Art of Edward HopperAugust 11, 2007 David Fine(Housatonic MA) 21 out of 23 found this review helpful
As a long-time admirer of the paintings of Edward Hopper, I was delighted to discover Walter Wells' new book, Silent Theater (Phaedon), a large-format compendium of Hopper's work with a wealth of large color illustrations of the major works and detailed textual commentary that is both scholarly and readable, that is informative, stylistically graceful, and blessedly free both of academic and postmodern jargon. The size of the book places it in what ordinarily goes by the name "coffee table" book, but this is far more than what that rubric, or other such volumes, suggests. Professor Wells' comprehensive and detailed text interprets (often quite originally) and in detail the major works and places the discussion of Hopper's art in the broad contexts of modernism and urban society and culture in the early half of the twentieth century as well as the psychological (e.g., Jung and Freud) and literary forces that influenced Hopper and provided the intellectual and artistic arenas in which he worked. The title suggests both the silence which is so much a part of his work--aloneness, loneliness, and alienation--and the narrative quality of his work which engages the viewer in an active role of reading meaning into the images, whose implications so often go beyond the edge of the canvas. This is a splendid work (at a reasonable price) and a welcome addition to the work that has been done on Hopper, one of America's most original and engaging artists.
A new way of seeing HopperDecember 20, 2007 Claude Reich(Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) 11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book studies the art of Edward Hopper through its various influences: the influence of literature and the influence of the artist's mood and psyche, at the different periods of his life. Beyond the mere statement that his was an art of silence, the author manages to dig deeper and shows us how nothing in Hopper's works, whether paintings or etchings, was left to chance. The many top-quality illustrations add to the overall value of this book which is, in my opinion, one of the best available on the artist (along with the catalogue for the 2007 retrospective which also is a must-have).
drdickensAugust 6, 2009 David B. Rankin(Los Angeles) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Professor Wells and I were colleagues in a university English Department. Over the years we've had spirited disagreements on many topics and reached sweet harmony on at least as many. When I saw his text in manuscript, I expressed some reservations about his reliance on Jungian ideas.
He brings to bear on his subject a superior intelligence and a lucid prose style that in itself adds aesthetic value to reprints of Hopper's work. In my judgment, clarity of thought and expression is the foundation of all good criticism. This book contains no jargon, pretension, or transgressive chic of the sort that has become commonplace in criticism of all the arts. The text invites the reader into a conversation with it and even provokes cavil, both also hallmarks of good criticism, since without them no serious intellectual work can take place. Its range extends beyond art as such, and offers sources from which additional information, always relevant, can be gleaned.
Like all good critics, Professor Wells transcends his own framework ( Jungian ) in his interpretation and judgment of Hopper's work. His commentary achieves cogency on its own merits and will affect how readers see what Hopper is dong and has achieved, even if readers do not see the work in exactly the same way. That accomplishment is the main business of serious criticism.
There are many reasons to buy this book. It's instructive, and the author is pleasant company. It will repay reading and rereading.
Solid workAugust 24, 2008 AC&J(oz) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I agree with all the positive comments by other reviewers. A solid, detailed and scholarly work that reproduces good prints of Hopper's art. It is well written and has some interesting readings of Hopper's paintings.
On a completely personal note: one thing which disappointed me slightly was Wells' tendency to read a lot of the paintings from a Freudian/Jungian angle. This is a tendency not only of Wells, but (it seems to me) a vast number of art critics.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
