Cape Cod Afternoon (1936) by Edward Hopper

Cape Cod Afternoon - Edward Hopper - 1936

Artwork Information

TitleCape Cod Afternoon
ArtistEdward Hopper
Date1936
MediumOil on Canvas
Dimensions86.4 x 127.16 cm
Art MovementNew Realism
Current LocationCarnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, US
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About Cape Cod Afternoon

Edward Hopper, a realist painter whose works record the starkness and vastness of America painted “Cape Cod Afternoon” in 1936 during the Great Depression and just before WWII. The painting depicts a rural area with a farmhouse and other buildings. Hopper’s intention behind this painting was to capture the still, quiet essence of Cape Cod life.

The focal point of the painting is a woman standing at the bay window looking off into the distance, creating an air of mystery about what she could be looking at beyond the pictorial space. The sunlight on one side of the house contrasts beautifully with the blue sky, trees, and golden grass in the background which enhances depth perception.

Hopper uses his signature style to depict nature’s natural progression with bright colors in warm sunshine. He adds some wooden houses that have aged over time but still maintain their appeal portraying human existence amidst this landscape. Hopper offers an alternative history- one more realistic than idealistic- highlighting influences such as cultural geography playing out across time based on practical considerations rather than esthetic ones.

“Cape Cod Afternoon” is an evocative work of art that takes us back to a time when life was simpler—a slower-paced way we can perhaps glimpse even beyond its initial beauty today through what remains unspoken within these powerful brushstrokes capturing timeless moments frozen for all eternity on canvas – preserving them forevermore!

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