Nighthawks Description

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Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks depicts a diner on a city street at night. The businesses surrounding the diner are visible, but the diner is the focal point. The diner appears to be the main source of light. Inside the diner there are four people, three sitting around a bar while the fourth is behind the bar serving customers. A man and a woman are sitting directly next to each other facing us, on the other side of the bar, a man is sitting alone with his back to us. The painting does not use very many stark, sharp lines. Opting for softer, rounded lines and layered lines. Most straight lines in the painting are used on the building, specifically the windows and doors. The shadows cast outside are depicted by angled lines, indicating the light source outside the diner. The contrast of the finer lines within the diner and …show more content…

Each character looks away from the viewer and those around them. The woman has her arms propped up around her as a barrier to those around her. The man beside her is leaning in, attempting to get her attention. Their hands, like themselves, are close together but not touching. This man, although trying to get her attention, has this vacant, pensive appearance on his face. All of the characters seem to be lost in their own thoughts, acting out the motions of being present. The man behind the counter is separated from the patron by the bar, which also has no entrance or exit. He is stuck, trapped in his work. The third man, although we cannot see his face, is hunched in solitude, exuding intensity. This intensity is emphasized by the shadows and darkness shrouding him. All the figures appear to be stuck in their own existential angst. The window to the diner is almost emphasized by its lack of presence, the viewer is allowed fully into the world within this diner through their gaze. There is no door into the diner, leaving the viewer outside with the only entrance being one's

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