Edward Hopper - Lighthouse Hill (1927)
Size: 71.76 x 100.33 cm
Genre: Landscape
Origin: USA
Currently placed at the Dallas Museum of Art
Lighthouse Hill is a painting from 1927, currently placed at the Dallas Museum of Art. Of all the American realist painters active in the 19th century, Edward Hopper is one of the most loved. His paintings of silent, empty streets, lonely people, and monumental old houses are familiar to many of us.
In a sense, authenticity was not his key focus. Spatial organization, abrupt cropping of structures, alterations of scale, and unusual viewpoints are some of the compositional devices Hopper used to enhance his paintings. 
According to art historian Gail Levin, sometimes he painted at the site, but more often—especially later in his career—he made detailed drawings with color notations and then executed the final painting in the studio. He didn't work from photographs, although he sometimes used a camera to record architectural details.
Revealing his distrust of the camera, he once commented, “The camera sees things from a different angle, not like the eye,” adding that photographic images “do not have enough weight.”
For this painting, Hopper used oil paints and created a very realistic representation of a cottage and lighthouse atop a hill. It is an ominous landscape. The sun shines, but it does not make for a cheery view. The shadows creep outward toward the viewer across the rolling hill. Hopper's experimentation with light is indicative of his style—his outdoor sceneries and landscapes are very expressive.
Edward Hopper's enthusiasm for the sea is evident throughout his paintings, including Lighthouse Hill. Some critics say Hopper defined 20th-century realism with his grim, eerie scenes that convey the isolation of modern life. In his general work, he had little regard for detail compared to other realist painters—focusing instead on geometry and atmosphere. 
Even though the painting shows a blue sky and serene subject, the use of shadows makes it somewhat disturbing and uneasy. The viewer looks from the bottom of the hill, as if the house has spread its gloom across the scene.
The focal points of the painting are the lighthouse and the cottage, created with meticulous detail. In contrast, the landscape of plain green grass lacks detail, and Hopper’s brushstrokes remain visible, adding to the rugged texture of the piece.
In summary, Hopper’s painting uses ordinary, peaceful subjects to portray an opposite mood—through his techniques, color, and perspective.
Manesha Peiris (2021)
