Edward Hopper homage by Javier Vallhonrat

Javier Vallhonrat 2005 for Fendi and Flair

This picture is by Javier Vallhonrat from 2005 for Fendi and Flair. It is an homage to the american painter Edward Hopper. I really like this picture. Let’s talk about what makes it work for a minute.

The first thing that jumps out at me about this picture is the way the wall behind the model has been painted. It’s really subtle, but it seems to have been painted in layers of wash in order to evoke something similar to the type of brush strokes Edward Hopper used in his work. The low saturation green is a great color contrast to the faded peach/orange dress the model is wearing as well. Putting a warm color in front of a cooler one makes it really stand out, since warm colors seem to move forward in images and cooler colors seem to recede. So that color contrast is great, and really makes the model pop out of the image.

The second thing about it is the lighting. The hard geometric light that looks like it’s coming in from the window is doing an amazing job of creating leading lines to the model’s face, hands and feet. Also notice how the model’s raised leg is at the exact same angle, and almost seems connected to the hard shadow on the wall. There is no way that is coincidence.

So there’s great color, great leading lines, now let’s look at tonal range. The tonal range in this image is fairly low, with one exception. My guess is that there’s a light source in the room, probably very large and high camera left. This light source is preventing the dark parts of the image from getting to be too dark. Notice that there are no heavy, black shadows anywhere in the image. The only part of the image that has any kind of darkness to it is the model’s hair. And, luckily, it’s right next to one of the brightest parts of the image, the front of the model’s face where the “sunlight” is hitting her (not a coincidence… see how her head now has the highest contrast in the image, so the viewer’s eye is drawn straight to it?).

Anyways. It’s a great image, and I’m really digging all the choices made in it. The rest of the Fendi and Flair gallery is great too, I highly recommend taking a few moments to check it out.

Edward Hopper homage by Javier Vallhonrat