Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is a very famous artwork that was made in 1942. The artwork features a bar on a street corner and appears to be the only store open at the time on the street. The bar is not busy at all, there are only 4 people featured in the artwork including the bartender. A man and a redheaded woman sit together on one side of the bar, while a man who is alone sits on the other side of the bar. The bartender is dressed in all white and is reaching for something behind the bar. The sign for the bar is at the top of the artwork and says, “Phillies”. A picture of a cigar is also featured on the sign with it’s price, five cents. However, it appears that no one has a cigar in the bar.
This artwork uses a repetition of a rich dark …show more content…
Hopper said he got the inspiration for the diner from one in Greenwich Village of New York City. However, the diner that inspired him has been demolished since then. Hopper uses a repetition of windows in many of his works and especially in Nighthawks. He believed that windows were the gateway between the real world and the comfort of your home. In Nighthawks, there is no entrance into the diner. However, critics believe that Hopper intended for the only way in to be the large glass window that occupies most of the wall for the diner. Not only does the diner window symbolize an entrance, it also symbolizes open-ness and light. When Hopper was in the process of creating Nighthawks, Pearl Harbor had just been bombed. America was under great panic and wanted to be prepared for another attack. New York City had issued special drills for its citizens to close their blinds and turn off all lights in an attempt to “hide” the city in darkness to prevent aerial attacks. However, during these drills Hopper refused to turn out his lights and continued to work. Critics believe that this influenced his intense contrast of lighting in Nighthawks. Other critics argue that the use of the contrast of lighting is to show the loneliness of the outside world and the nighttime. This artwork was created during the Modernism
This artwork uses a repetition of a rich dark …show more content…
Hopper said he got the inspiration for the diner from one in Greenwich Village of New York City. However, the diner that inspired him has been demolished since then. Hopper uses a repetition of windows in many of his works and especially in Nighthawks. He believed that windows were the gateway between the real world and the comfort of your home. In Nighthawks, there is no entrance into the diner. However, critics believe that Hopper intended for the only way in to be the large glass window that occupies most of the wall for the diner. Not only does the diner window symbolize an entrance, it also symbolizes open-ness and light. When Hopper was in the process of creating Nighthawks, Pearl Harbor had just been bombed. America was under great panic and wanted to be prepared for another attack. New York City had issued special drills for its citizens to close their blinds and turn off all lights in an attempt to “hide” the city in darkness to prevent aerial attacks. However, during these drills Hopper refused to turn out his lights and continued to work. Critics believe that this influenced his intense contrast of lighting in Nighthawks. Other critics argue that the use of the contrast of lighting is to show the loneliness of the outside world and the nighttime. This artwork was created during the Modernism