The entire diner is also viewed from an angle through the perspective of an unknown viewer, which is presumably us; there is an element of voyeurism in the way Hopper depicted the Nighthawks scene. Furthermore, Hopper utilized the placement of horizontal and vertical lines to create a focal point, which is the diner. Madrid, Museo Thyssen–Bornemisza, Edward Hopper, June 12–Sept. 16, 2012; Paris, Galeries nationales d’exposition du Grand Palais, Oct. 5, 2012–Jan. 28, 2013 (Paris only). Created in 1942, Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks is considered the incarnation of existential art, capturing the alienation and loneliness symptomatic of modern urban life. While Hopper did not intend to evoke a particular emotional state with his Nighthawks painting, the artist admitted that “Unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city”. A part of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago since only a few months after its completion, Nighthawks remains the most requested and sought after painting in their collection and one of the most recognizable paintings of the 20th-century American art. A tall, gangly, and shy teenager, Hopper took refuge in reading and drawing, even poking fun at his awkward physique in some illustrations. But his ability as an artist also fostered lofty career ambitions. When he graduated from high school in 1899, Hopper composed an image of himself in cap and gown, clutching a diploma and walking towards a distant mountain labeled “FAME.” Beneath the pen-and-ink drawing, five words conveyed his trepidation for the future: “OUT INTO THE COLD WORLD.”

Starting shortly after their marriage in 1924, Edward Hopper and his wife Josephine (Jo) kept a journal in which he would use a pencil, make a sketch-drawing of each of his paintings, along with a detailed description of specific technical details. Jo Hopper would then add additional information about the theme of the painting. There are four figures inside, three sit around the wooden countertop, which takes up most of the space inside the diner and appears almost triangular in its shape. The waitron, who wears a white uniform and hat, is on the inside of this space, behind the counter. He is looking ahead at something with his mouth partially open in a grimace of some sort busy with something behind the counter. technical details. Jo Hopper would then add additional information in which the themes of the painting are, to some degree, illuminated.No artist has ever captured the isolation of an individual within the modern city like Edward Hopper did, exposing the underbelly of the human existence. In an interview for the Reality Magazine in 1953, Hopper said that “great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.“ Additionally, we do not see any other form of light other than the diner light, which also reaches its way into the shop across the street and some of the windows above it. Hopper depicted light in a realistic manner – this is something we would see if we were standing on a darkened street corner looking in on an illuminated diner. Five Charming Inaccuracies in 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' DVD". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved October 8, 2022. Moss located a land-use map in a 1950s municipal atlas showing that "Sometime between the late '30s and early '50s, a new diner appeared near Mulry Square". The diner was located immediately to the right of the gas station, "not in the empty northern lot, but on the southwest side, where Perry Street slants". That map is not reproduced in the Times article but is shown on Moss's blog. [14] Nighthawks’ by Edward Hopper is often recognised as one of the most famous artworks of 20th century America. The painting depicts a midnight scene of ‘Phillies’ diner, inside which 4 anonymous figures can be seen; 2 men, 1 woman and a bartender. ‘Nighthawks’ is often read as an exploration of human existentialism and loneliness in the modern age. The figures feel distant and disconnected from each other which is reflected by the viewer's literal distance from the interior scene which is separated by a bending glass exterior with no clear entrance. Although Hopper has said the painting does not specifically explore loneliness, he said of the work, “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.”

An important piece of Americana, the painting also has an ability toevoke a sense of nostalgia for an America of a time gone by. However, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper remains relevant even today as a subtle critique of the modern world, the world in which we all live,where an overwhelming sense of loneliness, and a deep desire, but ultimate inability, to connect with those around us prevails. While we cannot say where this cafe is, we can see an easter egg. Look at the red and green buildings on the other side of the road. That building is very similar to the building in the painting Early Sunday Morning painted in 1930. Perhaps this is where the cafe is as well? Who knows, but it is an interesting reference that people often miss. The cafe in the painting The emotional distance in the living subjects of Nighthawks and other paintings by Hopper gives the feeling of isolation, of seclusion. Perhaps it was to show the busy life of a city where you are surrounded by people, yet there is no connection between them and you.

Janiczek, Christina (December 5, 2010). "Book Review: Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek" . Retrieved March 24, 2016. In this article we will explore a brief contextual analysis, we will provide some historical context of how this work is part of the American Realism movement and what may have influenced Hopper to paint it.

Here’s a short list of paintings by Edward Hopper that shows either one living subject or two or more people together yet they are isolated. The same sense of seclusion that is present in Nighthawks is present in these paintings. Starting shortly after their marriage in 1924, Edward Hopper and his wife Josephine (Jo) kept a journal in which he would, using a pencil, make a sketch-drawing of each of his paintings, along with a precise description of certain technical details. Jo Hopper would then add additional information about the theme of the painting. Hopper’s painting process was apparently very slow, and it took him considerable time to find the right subject matter. He is also reported to have stated that his painting “crystalized” when he started printmaking in 1915. His etchings were notably mysterious in their mood, a good example of this is his Night Shadows (1921), which depicts an aerial view of a solitary figure walking on a street corner in New York. Jo's handwritten notes about the painting give considerably more detail, including the interesting possibility that the painting's evocative title may have had its origins as a reference to the beak-shaped nose of the man at the bar: Television [ edit ] An establishing shot from " Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" (1997), one of several references to Nighthawks in the animated TV series The Simpsons [43]Ian Chilvers and Harold Osborne (Eds.), The Oxford Dictionary of Art Oxford University Press, 1997 (second edition), p. 273, ISBN 0-19-860084-4 "The central theme of his work is the loneliness of city life, generally expressed through one or two figures in a spare setting - his best-known work, Nighthawks, has an unusually large 'cast' with four." Although this was not the sole reason for why Edward Hopper painted Nighthawks, it is an important consideration to bear in mind when looking at his painting as it is depicted with a sense of quiet, dimness, and eeriness that can easily be attested to the prevalent mood of that time, which was undoubtedly one of foreboding. are partly lit by an unseen streetlight, which projects its own mix of light and shadow. As a final note, the bright interior light causes some of the surfaces within the diner to be reflective. This is clearest in the case of the His art teachers included William Merritt Chase, who also inspired Hopper’s earlier art style. Hopper was also inspired by the styles of Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas, all figures from the French Impressionism art movement. Hopper married Josephine Nivison in 1924 who made a significant impact on his work and life. The main “buzz words” around this painting include timelessness and loneliness because it shows us the realities of living in a city brimming with culture and people, yet the other side of it can leave one feeling completely isolated in its throes. Hopper ironically did not solely aim to depict this aspect; he was reported as saying, “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city”. We can believe this as he lived in the city and must have felt similar feelings.