Lighting Techniques in Art

Paper Summary:

This paper explores how the evolution of sculpture, from the architecturally-based Gothic period to the return to Antiquity and Roman art, and new ideas about light use and perspective in the Renaissance to the very Catholic and extravagant Baroque period, and the many interluding movements that finally brought sculpture to a more modern place in the 19th century with the works of Realism, shows both a desire to return to artistic roots and a need to grow beyond that which has already been created. It explains that each period had innovative techniques and original artistic ideas, which would influence all art that followed by creating a new standard that could be adhered to, added onto, or completely revolted against by the next generation of artists. It concludes that sculpture continues to reflect the movements of religion, architecture, painting, and science in every period of time.

From the Paper:

"The human mind is only capable of sight by means of taking light through the eye and interpreting that within the brain. Although people did not fully understand the scientific properties of light until relatively recently, artists throughout time have had the particular challenge of creating an illusion of the existence of light within an art piece. Human sight has an incredible range, feeding the mind images of the surrounding world from near complete darkness to the brightest of sunlight conditions. It is through this range that the world becomes reality, and it is therefore the place of art to attempt to capture this range of light. However, traditional pigments have a very limited range, and therefore the artist must find ways to make the available colors combine to create an illusion that may be interpreted by the viewer as similar to reality. The lighting techniques of painters took a significant turn in the Early Renaissance period which moved their work much closer to nature in appearance through a change in lighting styles, and this continued to influence the art periods that followed."

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