Analysis of Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

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Abstract

Nighthawks is a famous oil painting completed in 1942 by American realist artist Edward Hopper. Hopper places heavy emphasis on lighting contrast and warm versus cool hues, and he paints hard edges to contour the buildings’ geometric shape and make them pop out. Nighthawks depicts four people in a diner at night, and it withholds a sense of sadness and loneliness. This artwork could be interpreted as portraying the somber side of city life; Hopper’s purpose of creating it is to exhibit how city dwellers may still feel alone despite being surrounded by people at all times and extract a feeling of solicitude from viewers. This painting is currently located and being exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

       Keywords: contrast, value, warm colors, cool colors, hues, tint, shade, shape, contour, line, realism, cityscape

 

Analysis of Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

       Edward Hopper created this artwork to contain a palpable mood. It is a scene at an urban night diner with a clear subject: the four people inside the diner. Although the room is lighted and makes obvious use of a bright color palette, the feeling this painting as a whole exudes is not as jolly as expected. Instead, it radiates a sort of dismal energy, as the people in it appear to be noninteractive and isolated in the midst of a deserted, darkness-engulfed urban setting. This painting could be interpreted as portraying the somber side of city life; Hopper’s purpose of creating it is to exhibit how city dwellers may still feel alone despite being surrounded by people at all times and extract a feeling of solicitude from viewers.

Background

       Edward Hopper was an 1882-1967 American painter known for his artworks of buildings in his hometown of New York and his sharp emphasis on lighting and planes of color (The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia, 2018). His paintings are composed of distinguished edges and geometric shapes to portray the clear-cut forms of the cityscape. Most of his artworks push an atmosphere of solitude and sentimentality–”the loneliness of a large city,” as Hopper himself acknowledges–which makes them all the more memorable to viewers (The Columbia encyclopedia, 2018). Hopper carefully reproduces the patterns and visual contrast he spots daily in his life in the city, and he integrates his mood into his art, as well, making the stark, lonely aura have a sense of dimension; his artworks feel relatable. Edward Hopper found his signature style through realism–New Realism, to be exact–and is now known to be one of the best American realists (The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia, 2018).

       In his youth, Hopper was heavily influenced by fellow painter Robert Henri. He attended the New York School of Art where Henri taught for five years, from 1901 to 1906, where he learned plenty about the elements of art and efficient ways to utilize them in his creations (The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia, 2018). Hopper was also inspired by European styles, as he traveled to that continent multiple times and even stayed in France for one year. The artist spent many occasions wandering the city and painting whatever urban scene that caught his eye the most. Hopper was seldom recognized at the beginning of his journey through art, but he persisted at drawing, working as a magazine illustrator (The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia, 2018). Eventually, about a decade later, in 1925, he decided to return to painting. From this point on was where most of his most successful masterpieces originated (The Columbia encyclopedia, 2018). These include, but are not limited to, Drug Store (1927), Room in New York (1932), and New York Movie (1939). While Edward Hopper did not draw much attention with his artworks at first, he ended up becoming a celebrated American painter. (The Columbia encyclopedia, 2018). In fact, he is widely regarded as one of the most prominent painters of the 1900s.

Analysis

       The subject of focus in this painting are the four anonymous people in a night diner, seemingly in an urban area. One of the most prominent elements is the contrast in lighting between the inside of the diner versus the outside. Hopper illuminates the interior--where the main characters of this artwork reside--with glaring yellow walls and the artificial fluorescence of incandescent light bulbs that seeps out of the extended glass window and onto the barren city streets. Warmly tinted hues dominate on the inside of the building, while the exterior environment is submerged with cooler shades. This dissimilarity in value and color creates a false sense of liveliness in the brighter area; the viewers’ attention is drawn to the four people in the diner first, expecting the crowd to be merrily chatting amongst each other and sharing drinks, only to be greeted with melancholic expressions and a heavy feeling of gloom. Then, it suddenly hits one that, despite the obvious company, there is somehow still an overbearing mood of isolation. This is precisely the atmosphere Hopper was trying to capture, and it was the exact thing that intrigued me in the first place. When one looks at this illustration, the immediate impression is most likely to be the literal aspects of it--a 1900s realism artwork of a cityscape–and that there’s nothing much to take note of at first, but it’s the swirl of alluring nostalgia that follows, once one studies this painting for a few moments further. Hopper seems to have enshrouded many layers of emotion underneath the raw paint, detectable only through meticulous analysis. Sandwiched between the oil and the canvas is a latent story: the tale of city life’s ironic loneliness. Through this artwork, Edward Hopper conveys the solitude and subtle despondency of urban folk.

       Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is currently located and being exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Before that, it had also been displayed at a multitude of other museums and galleries in the U.S., including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1970). Between 1992 and 2013, this artwork had been exhibited at various museums in European cities, such as Essen in Germany, London in England, Madrid in Spain, and Paris in France (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1970). From 2018 to 2019, it was showcased at the “Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865-1945” exhibit in the Shanghai Museum. Originally painted and owned by Edward Hopper, this artwork was consigned to Frank Rehn Galleries in 1942 and sold to The Art Institute of Chicago that same year (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1970).

Reflection

       There was a particular aura this painting held that drew me towards it. Shall I say… a sense of mystery? It seems like each subject sitting in the diner has their own story to tell, but none of them are saying a word (at least, of truth). Questions bubble up in my head: How did they end up here? What is really on their minds? It naturally triggers my creative sense and makes me want to write; I feel an urge to pen the woeful tales untold by these characters. (In fact, there are others who already have. Poems by Wolf Wondratschek and Joyce Carol Oates, magazine dramazations by Christoph Schlingensief, and short stories by Erik Jenresen and Stuart Dybek were all derived from this one magnificent artwork. It really shows how this singular illustration can touch so many imaginative minds.) Along with that, I adore the unexpected balance: there is visible contrast between the barren city streets and the “lively” interior, yet both sides are united by the underlying sadness that sprawls beneath eye-level. Intricate emotions are woven into the raw oil, and I can feel them oozing out along the seams of the hard lines Hopper is so well known for. I understand that Hopper was attempting to, and successfully managed to, create a compelling yet somber atmosphere.

Conclusion

       Edward Hopper created this painting to touch people, whether in their pathos or creativity, or both. Although Nighthawks is captivating immediately as one’s sight befalls upon it, there are many more layers and realm in this artwork to be explored through further attentive studying. This is why I believe it would be worth the time for others to look into this painting as well. Hopper’s painting has the ability to ignite sparks of inspiration, as proven by the many literary pieces written based off of this illustration’s diner occupants, but this power may not be detectable until the viewer takes a closer look, perhaps even see the artwork in real life, first. However, even if someone is not a writer of any sort, the painting is still worth checking out. Hopper’s most fundamental purpose of creating this is to share his interpretation of loneliness in a big city. Many others living in urban scenes may have the same feeling, whether they know it or not. Perhaps this illustration will touch some part of one’s soul. Even if nothing physical–like a poem–results from viewing this artwork, the moment of understanding could be life-changing to some people. I strongly suggest others delve into the doleful nighttime cityscape that is Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

Figure

 

References

Hopper, E. (1970, January 1). Nighthawks. The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111628/nighthawks

Hopper, Edward. (2018). In P. Lagasse, & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia (8th ed.). Columbia University Press. Credo Reference: https://acm.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/hopper_edward/0?institutionId=7767

Hopper, Edward. (2018). In Helicon (Ed.), The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guide. Helicon. Credo Reference: https://acm.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/hopper_edward/0?institutionId=7767