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Some works of art use colour, surface texture and materials with the spe-
cific aim of reflecting a high proportion of the ambient light; this is a charac-
teristic of paintings that employ gold and other precious metals, including 
Byzantine painting and mosaic, Romanesque illuminated manuscripts and Ital-
ian panel paintings from the 13
th
to 14
th
centuries. Other works create an illu-
sion of the presence of light within the picture by arranging colours in combi-
nations that reflect the distribution of light and shadow values in nature. Most 
Western representational painting from the Renaissance to the present creates 
pictorial light by colour juxtapositions. The illusion of pictorial light is created 
through the interaction of the painting surface with the light that strikes it (the 
‘incident light’). 
Tonal modelling is the most commonly used practice to create the illusion 
of three-dimensional relief. It depends on gradations of lighter and darker 
tones of the same colour, which describe the variations in light intensity over 
the surface of a form. In addition to mixing colours to get these variations, to-
nal modelling has also been accomplished by layering translucent colour over 
gradated un-derpaintings, and by the juxtaposition of small colour areas to 
create optical mixing. Scholars have identified different approaches to tonal 
modelling, including the use of pure colour in the shadows mixed with white 
to create lighter tones (described by Cennino Cennini and used in Italian paint-
ing, 1290–1450); the use of saturated colour in the mid-tones with light and 
dark additives to create chiaroscuro
(described by Leon Battista Alberti and 
used in Italian painting from 1440); the use of saturated colour in the high-
lights with gradual darkening to create shadows through tonal underpainting 
(used by Leonardo da Vinci in the “Virgin of the Rocks”, 1485; and other 
works); and hue-based modelling known as cangianti, in which a lighter hue 
such as yellow represents illuminated portions of drapery, while a darker hue 
such as violet represents shadowed portions (used by Michelangelo in the lu-
nettes on the vault of the Sistine Chapel, 1508–1512, in Rome). 
Colour juxtapositions contribute to the illusion of pictorial light, because 
the perceived brightness or an object depends on its relationship to other 
brightness values in the total visual field.
Contrasts of light with dark result in 
the light looking brighter and the dark, darker. Since saturated colours are per-
ceived as more vivid and brighter than greyed colours, the use of saturated 
colours or the juxtaposition of saturated with greyed colours can enhance the 
illusion of brightness. Contrasts of complementary colours mutually intensify 
the perceived saturation of each colour and, when juxtaposed, may create lu-
minous, scintillating perceptual effects. Pictorial light has a more limited tonal 
range than light in most natural conditions; therefore, painters frequently use 
bold contrasts to create enhanced perceptual effects. Frequently white as a lo-

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cal colour is toned down so that pure white, juxtaposed with darks, serves to 
imitate the intensity of lustres. 
The pattern of light and shadow follows optical principles that give infor-
mation about the location and quality of the light. Surfaces close to the source 
of light appear to be brighter than those which are remote. Shadows vary in 
darkness, shape, colour and clarity of edges according to their distance from 
the light, their orientation to the light source and their relation to other reflec-
tive surfaces. The description of pictorial light should take into account the 
following elements: the type of light represented, whether natural (daylight), 
artificial (lamps, candles, torches), supernatural or a combination; the quality 
of light, whether direct and focused or indirect and diffused; the level of illu-
mination; the direction of light, whether frontal, lateral, cross-light, backlight, 
overhead or from below; the colour of the light; and the relationship between 
the pictorial light and the actual light. 
The direction of the light source is indicated by the size, shape and posi-
tion of shadows and highlights. When the light source is high, as at midday, 
cast shadows will be short; when the light is low, as at twilight, cast shadows 
are long. Cast shadows are projected according to the laws of linear perspec-
tive and are shown as foreshortened if seen at an oblique angle. If the light 
source is smaller than the object, the cast shadows will diverge and gradually 
lessen in intensity; sources larger than the object cause the cast shadows to 
converge to a point and lighten rapidly. Sunlight results in cast shadows that 
are parallel because at the great distance of the sun from the earth. The quality 
of light is indicated both by colour and design: high or strong contrasts indi-
cate an intense light, while low contrasts indicate a weak light. Crisp edges on 
forms and cast shadows indicate a focused light, while soft blurred edges and 
penumbra suggest diffused light. Bright light reveals colour at its most satu-
rated; dazzling light makes colour appear washed-out; colours in dim light ap-
pear greyed or pale. Incandescent illumination has a warm, reddish-yellow 
colour; daylight and fluorescent light have a cool, bluish tonality. In moderate 
conditions, reflected light is particularly evident; the light reflected into shad-
ows makes them appear lighter and more transparent, enabling us to see the 
contours, details and colour of the shaded object. Reflected light picks up the 
colours of adjacent surfaces and transforms the colour of objects.
The most typical placement of the light in Western European painting is 
frontal-lateral from above – at about a 45° angle – which illuminates about 
three-quarters of the surface of objects and seems most natural. Frontal light-
ing tends to give bold, direct effects; Edouard Manet used this to great advan-
tage in “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” (1863) and the “Bar at the Folies-Bergère” 
(1882). Backlighting (also known as contre-jour) creates dramatic effects, as 

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in Rembrandt’s “Blinding of Samson” (1638), “Supper at Emmaus” (1628-
1629) and other works from his early years. Lateral lighting produces alternat-
ing zones of light and shadow, which were exploited for spatial effects by 
such Baroque landscape artists as Claude Lorrain. Cross-lighting (two or more 
sources) was used by Domenichino (e.g. the “Last Communion of St Jerome”, 
1614) to mitigate the obscurity of shadows, rendering shadowed forms visible 
without disregarding the laws of nature. Light from below was frequently used 
by Georges de La Tour, Gerrit van Honthorst and other tenebrist painters for 
its eerie, disturbing quality. 
Bell J. C. Light // The Dictionary of Art / еd. by J. Turner. Vol. 19: Grove’s Dictionar-
ies Inc., New York, 1996. P. 351–353. 

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