Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" (1942), housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, stands as one of the most iconic and recognizable works of 20th-century American art. This masterpiece in chiaroscuro captures the universal feeling of loneliness that pervades big cities, embodying the essence of Hopper's artistic genius as a master of silent, melancholic atmospheres. Painted during World War II, the work has transcended its historical moment to become one of the most emblematic pieces of modern art.
On this evening in 1942, the atmosphere inside this typically American diner feels suffocating. Bathed in a pale light that cuts through the night, the establishment serves as the setting for a rather sad spectacle: three mysterious customers lean against the bar, sipping coffee without exchanging a word or even a glance. Trapped in their solitude, they seem oblivious to the presence of the waiter bustling behind the counter. Hopper was 60 years old when he painted this work, which would soon establish itself as one of the essential masterpieces of 20th-century art.
As the United States had just entered the global conflict that had been ravaging Europe since 1939, the painter translated onto canvas the existential anxieties of American society. The oil on canvas measures 84.1 x 152.4 cm and perfectly captures the mood of wartime America through its portrayal of urban isolation and disconnection.
Born in 1882, Edward Hopper emerged as the emblematic painter of the American way of life after abandoning a career as a commercial illustrator, which he despised. Along with his wife Jo, who was also a painter, he regularly frequented theaters and cinemas on Broadway. It's hardly coincidental that "Nighthawks" evokes a film scene. Like a filmmaker, the artist places primary importance on framing and image composition.
The rigorous geometry of the diner, with its sharp right angles and smooth surfaces that stretch horizontally like a shot filmed with a wide-angle camera, contrasts with the typical verticality of New York architecture. As often seen in Hopper's work, the viewer is kept at a distance from the scene, observing from the street as if watching a film projected in a dark theater. This cinematic quality reinforces the sense of voyeurism and detachment that characterizes much of Hopper's urban imagery.
The intense light from the diner's neon signs is also inspired by cinema, recalling the frontal lighting of film set spotlights. It contrasts sharply with the darkness of the street, radiating like a lighthouse in the night. The light also maintains the characters in a sort of bubble, as if they were trapped in a fishbowl. The almost fluorescent yellow of the walls evokes Vincent van Gogh's "The Night Café," painted in 1888 during his stay in Arles, which Hopper likely admired during an important retrospective that MoMA dedicated to the Dutch artist in the 1930s.
Shining coffee machines positioned on the counter, paper napkin dispensers, mugs – Edward Hopper left no decorative element to chance, as evidenced by the numerous preparatory drawings created by the artist and the detailed notes in Jo's journal, which conscientiously documented the painting's creative process. The diner appears as the perfect embodiment of the made-in-USA lifestyle. However, in the artist's vision, the American dream gives way to anxiety and solitude, which wall up human beings in the most suffocating of silences.
During his several stays in Paris between 1906 and 1910, Edward Hopper absorbed the European avant-garde movements. He particularly drew from Félix Vallotton his taste for muted atmospheres in which several indifferent characters evolve, especially couples. The painter made the inability to communicate between men and women one of his preferred motifs, perhaps drawing inspiration from his personal experience.
In "Nighthawks," the young red-haired woman with the melancholic gaze is none other than his wife Jo, who posed for many of his works. Meanwhile, the painter lent his own features to the silent man wearing a fedora and sitting beside her. This personal element adds another layer of meaning to the work's exploration of isolation and failed communication.
As a monument of 20th-century American art, "Nighthawks" belongs to those works that have been copied and parodied countless times, particularly beloved by pop culture. Among all these appropriations – not always in the best taste – one must mention the magnificent homage paid to Hopper by filmmaker Wim Wenders in his film "The End of Violence" (1997). One scene, which plunges the viewer into the behind-the-scenes of a film shoot, faithfully reconstructs the sets and atmosphere of the famous painting, demonstrating the enduring influence of Hopper's vision on contemporary visual culture.
