Gas, by Edward Hopper, 1940
Eerily realistic, his stark urban and rural scenes is a desolate montage of deserted streets, half-empty theaters, isolated railroad tracks and dreary rooming houses, in this case, a gas station.
A scene in New York, underscored their grim nature with sharp lines, large, impersonal shapes, flat expanses of color and hard angles
He used the sharp lines to create a 2D perspective whereby there is a diminishing point. I.e. depicted by the lines of the road disappearing into the dark forest
Forms and lines decrease in size as they approach the background towards the vanishing point.
(esp. depicted by the decreasing in size of the “gas pumps”.)
Therefore, creating a dimension within the 2D surface of the painting
Large, impersonal shapes such as the forest or ground are used to place emphasis on the dominance of an empty area. I.e. space
Thus, showing the structure that amplifies the vastness of the space
The contrast in structure of the painting is shown through the nature vs. manmade components
The isolation faced by the only human in the painting is further emphasized by difference in number of the gas station components with regards to the unending road as it “vanishes” into the distance and the “infiniteness” of the trees in the forest which gives the impression that it takes up a large amount of space.
