At the outset, I recognize that until the arrival of the Hopper exhibition at the Thyssen Bornemisza museum de Madrid I did not know the work of this prestigious American painter.
And that despite the fact that he himself Thyssen museum It has in its permanent collection the largest sample of his work in Europe.
But since its inauguration I had planned to visit it, although I was delaying my appointment with Hopper. What's more, I had the opportunity to accompany my colleague on his visit Angel Martínez Bermejo, but I declined that opportunity again.
And precisely after reading the very original Angel's vision of the exhibition, is when I already wrote down in the agenda: immediate visit.
My first reflection of the visit of the Hopper exhibition is that, once again, I have been able to confirm that In summer in Madrid there is a great cultural activity.
I visited on the last Saturday of July, at the last minute, and the rooms that the Thyssen has dedicated to the exhibition were packed with visitors.
In excess…just as happened in the exhibition by Antonio López in the summer of 2011.
Ángel says that Hopper is a painter that people who like photography like. I don't know if it is for this or for other reasons that I now list, why I consider that he is worth it visit Hopper's exhibition.
Edward Hopper fits into the american realism, and in fact participated in a first exhibition organized by Robert Henri in 1908 in New York.
These painters rejected impressionism, considering it artificial and alien to American culture.
But there is no doubt that Hopper is influenced by impressionism in his treatment of color. And I like that.
And I also like the possibility of seeing works done in watercolor, a technique in which Hopper was influenced by Manet and, above all, by Rembrandt.
In the Hopper exhibition You can see luminous coastal landscapes and seaside scenes, but also colorful scenes of daily life, among which I want to highlight its striking rural gas stations.
These everyday scenes take on a dark tone when they are set in the city, where the windows become the main protagonists of Hopper's painting, either because of characters who look outside, or because through them the painter enters the life of their characters, in their homes or in their offices.
Watching these paintings of urban scenes, of buildings in Manhattan or the outskirts of New York, the city where he lived almost all his life, or his environments, is where you really appreciate Hopper's connection with American cinema.
When looking at many of his works it seems like you are watching film noir films.
In short, a truly recommended exhibition that you can visit until September 16.
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