Van Gogh used yellow to express joy, but Edward Hopper’s
use of yellow expresses loneliness.
Hopper lived in New York City
for nearly six decades, and he created paintings depicting urban
scenes that showed how even familiar surroundings could cause the viewer to feel a sense of loneliness.
for nearly six decades, and he created paintings depicting urban
scenes that showed how even familiar surroundings could cause the viewer to feel a sense of loneliness.
Hopper’s Nighthawks is a good
example of this.
There are four people in the same diner, but they’re
clearly not together.
The bright yellow walls create a dramatic
contrast to the darkness outside, emphasizing how people can be in
the same space and feel apart.
contrast to the darkness outside, emphasizing how people can be in
the same space and feel apart.
In Hopper’s Automat, the feeling of
loneliness is even more direct.
The yellow lights lead the viewer’s eye
to the yellow hat of the woman, and the cool shades of the other colors
contrast with the warm yellow, emphasizing that she’s on her own.
Nighthawks (1942)
Automat (1927)
Hopper lived in New York City for nearly six decades, and he created paintings depicting urban scenes
that showed how even familiar surroundings could cause the viewer to feel a sense of loneliness.
depicting urban scenes는 paintings를 뒤에서 꾸며주는 분사구이다.
cause the viewer to feel은 <동사 + 목적어 + to부정사>의 구조이며, '보는 사람이 ~을 느끼도록 하다'라고 해석할 수 있다.
The bright yellow walls create a dramatic contrast to the darkness outside, emphasizing how people can be in the same space and feel apart.
how people can be in the same space and feel apart는 emphasizing의 목적어로 쓰인 wh-절이다. how는 의문사이며 뒤에 주어, 동사가 순서대로 이어진다.
The yellow lights lead the viewer’s eye to
the yellow hat of the woman, and the cool shades of the other colors contrast with the warm yellow, emphasizing that she’s on her own.
<lead A to B>는 ‘A를 B로 이끌다’라는 뜻의 표현이다.
emphasizing that she’s on her own은 분사구문으로 앞 절의
내용을 부연 설명하고 있으며, that은 접속사이다.