Studying Nighthawks

Nighthawks

by Edward Hopper, Edward Hopper is from America.

Made in 1942

Oil on canvas was used to make the work.

My first impression of this painting was that it was a very regular picture. When I say this I mean that it looks like just a regular day with dark colors and no bright colors. There is no one outside of the diner which shows loneliness and that there are only a few people alone in a big world.

Edward Hopper was trained to be an illustrator but spent five years studying painting which influenced his style to become about urban isolation. He made this painting to show a diner and three customers that are all in their own private thoughts. Without even knowing it Hopper actually painted the loneliness of a large city.

Edward Hopper shows asymmetry in his painting. There isn't any balance in this picture because there are more objects on the right side of the painting. The emphasis is on the four people. They are alone in the diner and it shows placement. They are in the center of the picture and you right away start to wander what each person is doing, thinking, and who they are. This placement emphasis helps you think and they are the first thing you see when looking at this picture. There also are leading lines in this picture. The leading lines take you up the street, down the sidewalk, into the diner and then down the table. I can tell these are leading lines because that was the path my eyes took me on when I first looked at the picture.