An empty stare. A thoughtful pose. Packed suitcases. A letter just read… ‘Hotel Room’ (shown above) represents the woman that Edward Hopper saw and conveyed in much of his work. Loneliness was his greatest ally. 

Because this is what the artist’s paintings reflect. The observer feels he or she is intruding on the subject’s intimacy and their quiet time of reflection. Hopper portrayed realism, and not just in the artistic sense of the word. Hopper’s women live real lives, with real problems, and their own moments of sadness. But most of all, Hopper’s women were true thinkers, who reflected on life, and wondered about what had gotten them there.

Madrid’s Thyssen Museum is housing a large collection of Edward Hopper’s work until the 16th of September, 2012. I got lost among the industrial, vibrant colors, his strangers who look so familiar, and the abandoned buildings of his native New York. But what struck me the most was how his paintings made me feel and think as much as the women in them.You leave wondering what the girl, looking out her window at sunrise, is thinking about that morning?