Blynman Bridge 1923

Edward Hopper painted Blynman Bridge, probably in watercolor, and it's all about capturing light and atmosphere through a kind of pared-down process. What strikes me is how the paint is both watery and precise. Look at the way the bridge is rendered, those long horizontal strokes against the vertical splashes suggesting the water. You can almost feel the humidity in the air, the heaviness of a summer day by the sea. Then there's this little green outhouse-like structure on the right, kind of looming in the foreground, it's such a blocky presence, anchored by a few dabs of mossy green. Hopper’s use of light and shadow creates these flattened, almost abstract shapes. He was probably looking at someone like Cezanne for those kind of tonal relationships, but it's also got this American, almost folk-art quality, that feels deeply Hopper. It's a painting that stays with you, like a half-remembered dream.