The elements that I notice in Hopper's work are three things: diagonals, contrasting/dramatic lighting effects, and windows. Hopper LOVES him some prominent diagonal lines, and virtually none of his pieces don't feature the diagonal.
I can't help but think he was strongly influenced by Degas' piece "Absinthe Drinker" painted 50 years earlier. In fact, now that I think of it, Hopper seems to draw a lot from Degas. The diagonals sure - there are few rooms which Degas doesn't approach from an oblique angle – but his dour subjects too, captured in realistic situations of the time.The interactions of humans and the spaces they inhabit are his subject matter, and the capturing of their spirit and hinting at heavy weights upon their shoulders as well.
And their positions! Like Degas, Hopper captures people in the corner of the picture, or truncates part of their bodies, or shows us the back of their head instead of a classical pose.
Hopper's "New York Restaurant" completed in 1922 is such a great capture of motion and movement. Like one of Degas' studio shots perhaps?
His most famous work is surely the cult-favourite "Nighthawks" shown here.
The peeks into people's homes and workplaces, through his well-placed window frames capture the atmosphere so well, that there becomes an undercurrent that it's hard to put our collective fingers upon. The pieces become almost surrealist, but we don't know why.
The maid working away, on we don't know what. The businessman leaning over the evening paper, and the woman in the red dress. We know they all have stories and we want to know what they are.
Anyway - I'm rambling 'cuz I like this stuff. But go ahead and read a bit more about Hopper, his conservative upbringing and the people in his life. It's an interesting world of which he captures scenes and gives us glimpses.
