Nighthawks continues to appear in all manner of different media, sometimes in its original form and other times as an adapted version, such as seen in The Simpsons recently. This painting features a cafe or bar scene late at night where strangers have congregated to consider their own lives, perhaps after a long week.
There is a typical concentration in one area of this work which can be seen in most of Edward Hopper’s paintings and here a darkly lit background circles in intriguing bar scene where much is going on and this leaves an interested viewer with different points to take in.
This painter would normally only use a single character within a painting as a way of creating atmosphere and a connection with the viewer, but in this case he decided to go beyond that with this bar scene. Perhaps the public nature of it would have made a lack of people seem unrealistic here.
It is not always easy to determine just why exactly one painting from an artist becomes seen as his best work, and there can be a certain amount of luck involved for that particular piece to stand out, but whatever the reason Nighthawks will also be seen as Hopper’s best achievement and remains frequently reproduced in the United States with plenty of fans also existing in Europe as well.
The most notable paintings from this artist included Painter and Model, Bridge in Paris, Le Pont des Arts, Après-midi de juin, Les lavoirs à Pont Royal, Le Pont Royal, Le Quai des Grands Augustins, Le pavillon de Flore, The Wine Shop, American Village, Squam Light, Louvre and Boat Landing, The El Station, Summer Interior, The Louvre in a Thunderstorm, Queensborough Bridge, Soir bleu, Road in Maine, Blackhead, Monhegan and also Stairways.
We thoroughly recommend taking a little time to look further into the work of an influential painter who helped to give realism art a greater contemporary feel so that it can connect with current generations. The likes of Jack Vettriano have also taken on from his achievements and carried things onwards once more.
