Art · Cinema, photography & architecture + iconic works

What does Hopper's “Nighthawks” say about urban loneliness?

Four people, one counter, and nobody really talking.

19423 min read5 partsQuiz of 8 questions

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Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction

In 1942, the American painter Edward Hopper painted Nighthawks: an all-night American diner, silent customers, empty streets.

It is the very image of American urban alienation.

The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.

Open-book quiz8 questions whose answers are in the text.

Glossary7 terms explained in a tap.

30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.

In this course

Glossary

American diner · concept: An American institution: open around the clock, quick counter service, anonymous customers passing through. It is the perfect setting for shared loneliness, and it runs through American writing, film noir, and painting.
American urban alienation · concept: Nighthawks was painted in 1942, a few weeks after Pearl Harbor. The loneliness of the figures in the American night carries a deep unease: an individualist society, no sense of community, an emptiness behind all the material comfort.
Pearl Harbor · event: Surprise attack on December 7, 1941, by Japanese forces, leading to the entry of the United States into the Second World War and creating a climate of national anxiety at the time Hopper painted his canvas.
Ridley Scott · person: British director who explicitly cited 'Nighthawks' as a major visual influence for recreating the nocturnal and rainy atmosphere of the film Blade Runner.

3 more in the app.

A Sophia courseWritten by the Sophia editorial team, reviewed before publication, translated into 30 languages.See Sophia's authors

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