Works of Art I Know

Nighthawks, 1942

Edward Hopper, American

My First Impressions:

This is actually not the first time I've seen this painting. I have seen it in person actually at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It's really beautiful up close. The first thing I notice is the diner and the couple on the far right. I think that this takes place in Philadelphia due to the name of the diner "Phillies". I think that this is supposed to be early morning or late late night because the streets are deserted and the stores are closed. It also seems to be fairly dark outside.

What I've Learned: 

Hopper has said that the inspiration behind Nighthawks is "a restaurant in New York's Greenwich Avenue where two streets meet." Hopper didn't intentionally paint the loneliness and isolation of a large city, but he says that he might have subconsciously. 

Hopper brings a sense of unity to the painting with the use of contrast in color: the dark background as opposed to the light streaming in from the diner. He also uses repetition from the buildings in the background. The placement of the man in the middle of the painting draws us to him primarily. From the man we can follow his gaze to the couple and then to the waiter. Although the people in the painting are totally different, the way Hopper created them makes them totally unified.