The Nighthawks Analysis

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The Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is considered two-dimensional art. Some examples of two dimensional art is paintings, drawings and photographs. This painting is considered two-dimensional art because it was painted on a flat canvas and can only be observed in terms of height and width. This piece is not considered three-dimensional because it does not occupy space or have mass. Although this painting does not occupy space, it does imitate three-dimensional space or depth.
Edward Hopper was a realist and his subjects were drawn from real life situations. This art is naturalistic because it has recognizable objects that imitate nature and three-dimensional space, like the diner, customers in the diner, and other buildings in the background. The …show more content…

The artist used colors and light to draw one’s attention to the diner and the people in it and then to the only character not facing the viewer. This emphasis with the use of colors and light means “that our attention is drawn more to certain parts of a composition than to others” (Getlein 127); when the emphasis is on “a relatively small, clearly defined area” (Getlein 127) this is called a focal point. The focal point in this piece of art is not only the brightly lit diner sitting on the corner of an empty intersection, but also within the diner, where the eye is drawn to the individuals in the diner. In addition, the woman stands out in particular because of her red dress and the bright color of her …show more content…

The man, whose face we cannot see, is almost completely hidden in the dark shadows. Like the bird, this “night hawk” is camouflaged by the low light and shadows in such a way that he almost vanishes into the night. With his distance from the couple, the impression is that the man is mysterious, bad or even sinister. With the absence of a door, to the outside, the people seem to be trapped or isolated. The other buildings and sidewalks are also examples of subordination by the artist, de-emphasizing the importance of the surroundings so that the diner becomes the strongest focal point in the

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