ELEVEN A.M., 1926

Hopper is an American regionalist painter who uses a realistic painting style with his subjects being isolated within their community. His ideas of isolation concerning urban and rural areas are translated into a poetic, strange beautiful feeling of loneliness. In Eleven am Hoppers, the subject is a nude woman in what is presumably a hotel room, due to the basic furniture and from what we can gather from the small view out of the window. Wood emphasizes the themes of loneliness in this painting with exaggerated, deep, cold shadows and muted colors that consume all feelings of warmth and liveliness within this painting. Typically, at 11 am at a hotel one might be checking out of a hotel room, hear bustling noises of traffic, and feel the energy of the world around them moving due to the lunch rush hour. Despite this social stereotype, Hopper paints a nude woman looking out of an open window into what looks like more buildings or a street. Since the overarching theme is isolation, the use of dark colors and bare objects creates a silent scene. A nude woman emphasizes her vulnerability by wearing a pair of shoes, especially since she is gazing out of a window hunched over in a chair. Due to her bareness, and the themes of loneliness, it seems as though she is longing for some other connection but her ambition is eaten by the depression of isolation that lurks in the surrounding shadows. There's an effort to be made in putting formal shoes on as if you have a business meeting, but she remains sat, not even jewelry on her body. The shadows cast onto her body a very cold light, as if she is frozen onto this chair, unable to move as she feels so immersed in her isolation. Although sad, her body is healthy looking and her hair falls softly onto her chest, emphasizing her beauty and creating a sense of melancholy another woman might feel as she tries to get ready in the morning. Typically sitting by the windows offers sunlight into a room, however, she is consumed by deep, dark, cold, silent shadows that render her useless to the gift of warm sunlight. If there were sunlight in this room, the curtains would be shining from their yellow color, the chair would be radiating a sky blue, and the lamp would be bringing in warmth due to its red color. Yet, the colors are overpowered by the shadows and are ultimately shaded into muted colors that are generally not inviting to others, creating a barrier against human connection. In my perspective, this painting represents many days I have encountered in my loneliness. The struggle to get up. I hope that opening the blinds will awaken my brain to participate in activities. Simple activities like getting dressed. Yet, the depression inside me overpowers any light possible, capturing my ambition to start my day, and rendering me useless in my bed. Still, I know if I feel this way so can others. In that truth, there is poetic justice that even if I stand alone, I know there are others who feel this way too, creating a beautiful, silent community for everyone who struggles in isolation.