Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper 1930
Copy and paste this URL in your browser to access this painting: https://www.edwardhopper.net/early-sunday-morning.jsp
Edward Hopper is an American artist. His Early Sunday Morning painting is an oil on canvas that is roughly 35”x 60.” Originally the title named the street that the buildings were on in New York, but he later changed the title to “Early Morning.” That was somewhat unclear, but a critic called it “Early Sunday Morning,” Hopper did not disagree and the title was changed again.
The repeated horizontal and vertical lines of the buildings and windows are repeated again in the long shadows in the foreground. The barber pole is the first thing one notices because of its contrast to the darker colors and its disruption of the repeated horizontals and verticals in the background. The bright building aglow in the sunlight is the next thing noticed, which draws your eye upward and over to the long diagonal cast shadow. The building is brownish-red and the trim is a muted green. These are complimentary colors. The shop windows each have a unique front.
Reading the poem with the painting makes it hard for me to separate the two for interpretation. I can see this painting being full of possibilities (just like poetry!) But, I can also see that one might have the opposite perspective, one of emptiness. The time period during the Great Depression supports that. What makes this painting so compelling, as with all of Hopper’s work, is that it evokes everyday America. Anyone can look at it and find their own personal meaning based on their experiences, personality, and culture.
The third poem I plan to use for my unit on Reflective Self Portraits: A Study of Oneself through Ekphrastic Poetry and Art is “Looking Back” by Penelope Allen. I will ask students to independently read this poem and do a close read, utilizing the strategies they have previously learned. Afterwards, we will talk about it and walk through the steps to understanding poetry together.
Copy and post the URL in your browser to access the poem: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2640148-Vincent-van-Gogh--Self-Portrait--Art-Prompt
Image 1 - Self Portrait by Vincent van Gogh 1889
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