Today we looked at a painting called the "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper. We looked at how he wanted the viewer to look at the painting and what he wanted us to think about it.
These are some of the things he wanted us to notice:
He didn't use symmetry in the painting but he used placement/grouping. He placed the people in a lighted area to show them clearly, and what he wanted them to represent. Surrounding the bar he put darkness to show it was a lonely night. This is the contrast between light and dark. The light made leading lines on the pavement out side the bar and also he made the light creeping into the buildings on the opposite side of the bar. There was implied movement in the painting to: the bar tender bending down. The painting had some proportion, more light then dark. He mostly used all of the principles of design to show what he wanted us to think of his painting.
if he didn't use symmetry then what kind of balance does he create in the painting?
ReplyDeletegreat observation about the contrast in the painting. why did Hopper make such an effort to create this contrast? what did he want it to do?