Cape Cod Evening by Edward Hopper

04/13/19 • 7 min

Edward Hopper was famous for his ambiguous paintings and “Cape Cod Evening” is no exception. We’ll find out the possible pop culture influence for the scene and how dumb luck can play a big role in creating art. And just what is the dog looking at?

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/cape-cod-evening-by-edward-hopper/

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is “On the Cool Side” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Robert Torchia, “Edward Hopper/Cape Cod Evening/1939,” American Paintings, 1900–1945, NGA Online Editions, https://purl.org/nga/collection/artobject/61252 (accessed December 27, 2018).

“My Blue Heaven” (YouTube)

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/cape-cod-evening-by-edward-hopper/

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is “On the Cool Side” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Robert Torchia, “Edward Hopper/Cape Cod Evening/1939,” American Paintings, 1900–1945, NGA Online Editions, https://purl.org/nga/collection/artobject/61252 (accessed December 27, 2018).

“My Blue Heaven” (YouTube)

Previous Episode

Portrait of Madame du Barry by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

In a complete 180 from the spiritual contemplation of our last episode, today we’re looking at the portrait of Jeanne Bécu, who became Madame du Barry, the last mistress of Louis XV of France. She lived and loved (a lot!) in the days before the French Revolution. We’ll find out her fate along with that of her portraitist, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. I’ll give you a hint–only one of them survives!

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/portrait-of-madame-du-barry-by-elisabeth-louise-vigee-le-brun/

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is “String Quartet no. 3, Op. 136” composed by Benjamin Godard, performed by Steve’s Bedroom Band. Courtesy of musopen.org

Madame du Barry information

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun information

Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun Translated by Lionel Strachey Published by Doubleday, Page, & Company 1903. Free epub available at Google Books

Wikipedia entry on Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Grove Art Online (for DC library card holders):

Liechtenstein painting information

National Gallery copyist program information

Next Episode

Wivenhoe Park, Essex by John Constable

John Constable painted this bucolic landscape for Major General Francis Slater–Rebow but it’s not what it appears to be! We’ll talk about the headaches caused by an overeager client and what one of those cows is hiding. We’ll also see how Constable used a technique to conjure up distant figures, just like Camille Pissarro did decades later.

And we’ll find out how Constable’s cheapness and cold feet nearly cost him the love of his life!

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/wivenhoe-park-essex-by-john-constable/

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Piano Sonata no. 11, K. 331 – I. Andante grazioso” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Courtesy of musopen.org.

Wivenhoe Park, Essex info https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/constable-wivenhoe-park-essex.html

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1147.html

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1147.html#relatedpages

British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries (PDF)

Constable info John Constable (Masters of Art Series) by John Walker (Amazon)