In Edward Hopper’s painting,” Nighthawks”, there is a sense of lonliness in the picture. There are four people in a late night coffee shop that is in the middle of a deserted downtown business area. The coffee chop is brightly lit and there are no decorations of the walls or counters. There is a curved wall of windows where all four of the patrons can be seen.
There is a man and a woman together at the far end of the shop, sitting at the counter and they appear to have just met. They sit closely to each other but there is no sense of intimacy or flirtation between them, their hands are close to each other’s but they do not touch. They seem to have made a connection on some level, but it does not to appear to be emotional in nature. Towards the front of the painting there is a man sitting at the counter with his back to the viewer. He appears troubled. His posture is poor, he sits resting both arms on the counter, his head hung low.
The fourth person at the coffee shop is the person working the shop thi night. He seems as though he is waiting on his customers and doing various tasks around the counter. He seems content and seems to be grateful for the company in the middle of the night. The brightly lit coffee shop, the absence of decor, the deserted, late night streets, as well as the melancholy nature of the customers all work to create a sense of depression and lonliness to this piece.
