Nighthawks

Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper

Born in Nyack, New York

Nighthawks was made in 1942.

My first impression of this painting, is that it is very well thought out. The artist must have been very careful and very anal about his details. What i see in this painting is very complete. It seems he was painting an old-fashioned diner with the table around the bar and the very old coffee makers. It also says Phillies so clearly he had some motivation for making this painting. I like this painting a lot, because it really shows what specificity can do for something like this.

Edward Hopper went to the Ashcan school for art, and this changed him drastically, he started to depict not the chaos of urban living but the sense of urban isolation. He says he painted Nighthawks because he saw this diner where two streets met which was very intriguing to him, also he says he was painting the loneliness of the city.

My analysis on this painting is that it is very carefully painted and thought out. He really uses emphasis the most in this painting. He uses the contrast of color and the placement in this picture. He also uses motion as well though, the people all seem to be connected in some way or another. I especially like the emphasis put on the bartender, it seems like he is in my opinion the main man in the picture.