The artwork “Night Shadows” by Edward Hopper, created in 1921 in the United States, is an etching that falls within the New Realism art movement. Measuring 17.5 by 20.8 cm, it is considered a genre painting and is housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Night Shadows” features a solitary, diminutive figure walking on an urban street at night, cast in high contrast with stark shadows. The individual is captured mid-step, enveloped in the play of light and shadow that creates a mysterious, almost eerie atmosphere. The upper part of the composition shows the ledge of a building, underlining the urban environment, while the streetlamps produce intense light that generates long, dramatic shadows, including that of the pedestrian. Hopper’s etching masterfully utilizes light and darkness to convey the mood and isolation often evident in modern city life. The overhead perspective, the angular lines of shadows, and the absence of other human figures amplify the sentiment of solitude and the unknown inherent in the everyday urban experience.
