Journal Entry from Visual Dialogue

Why/how is composition important in affecting/creating our response to a painting?

Nighthawks, (Edward Hopper, located in the Art Institute of Chicago)

The composition in Nighthawks greatly influences our reaction to it. With the use of contrast, in colour, lighting, and shapes, many viewers of the painting see loneliness.

According to an Edward Hopper website, we are shut out from the scene by the glass. So not only do we perceive the characters to be lonely but we are also secluded ourselves. Also, the fact that we don’t see an entrance is also meant as a barrier to the interior of the diner.

We also feel eeriness, or a foreboding due to the lighting contrast between the interior and the night outside. The inside of the diner is brightly lit, and that light is spilling into the dark night creating ominous shadows. Yet the lighting is still balanced. If you look at the bottom left corner, the cement is brightly lit which is balanced diagonally in the upper right corner, where the light source is mainly coming from. 

Also, the strong geometric shapes that make up a lot of the composition in Nighthawks appear balanced. According to thefreelibrary.com, “the angular lines are balanced by the diagonal row of buildings in the background.”

As the National Gallery of Art website states, “Nighthawks is a composition of contrasts held in balance.” I agree with this completely. I feel the loneliness in this painting, and I’m also left with anticipation because I feel like I’m looking at the calm before the storm. The contrasts do work in harmony, but I’m left with a feeling that that harmony is soon to be disturbed.