This document discusses how light is used in art to modify properties and express meaning. It describes different light sources, including natural light from the sun and artificial light from lamps. It explains high key and low key lighting styles used to create mood, with high key being homogeneous and low key accentuating shadows. The quality of light is described as soft, diffuse light or hard, direct light. The direction of light, such as front, side, back, top or under lighting is discussed as impacting the illumination of surfaces and features. Examples are given of how artists have used light expressively to set environments or evoke symbolic meanings.

1. LIGHT AND EXPRESSION
and their use in Art

2. The light
• Light not only makes objects and people
visible, buy it can modify its properties
depending on what we want to express.
Look carefully this
screenshot of the film
“Apocalypse Now”. What
does enlightenment
suggest to you?

3. Sources of light
High and low key
Quality of the light
Direction of the light

4. Sources of light
• We distinguish between two sources of light:
natural and artificial.
Natural light, as in this case,
from the sun.
Or artificial light, which
comes from sources such as
lamps, bulbs and flashes.

5. High and low key
• High or low key lightning is a style of lightning used in
films, television or photography to create mood and
portraits with impact.
High key lightning is often quite
homogeneus and free from dark
shadows.
Low key lightning offers more
contrast accentuating contours of
an object and throwing areas into
shade

6. Quality of light
• The quality of light is something we describe based
upon visual perception. It can be soft (diffused light)
or hard (direct light).
Hard light is directional and cast strong
shadows and bright highlights. It comes
from midday sun or direct lightning from
lamps or flashes.
Soft light is non directional and comes
from a diffused source as a cloudy day or
strobes through umbrellas. It softens
images eliminating textures and contrast.

7. Direction of the light
• Depending where the light source is placed
and hits the subject we have…
• Front light
• Side light
• Back light
• Top light
• Under light

8. Front light
• Gives information about all visible surfaces but
softens volume and textures.

9. Side light
• Gives sense of volume and enhance textures.

10. Back light
• Highlights background figures, leaving a
silhouette.

11. Top light
• Illuminates the figure from above, creating
shadows that exaggerate features.

12. Under light
• Illuminates the figure from below creating a ghostly
effect.

13. Expressiveness of light
• With light we can also show feelings, moods and very
different psycological effects.
• Create environment or atmosphere and evoke
specific symbolic meanings

19. Velazquez, “El aguador de Sevilla” 1623
José de Rivera, “El martirio de San Felipe”, 1639

20. Jan Vermeer, “La joven de la perla”
Caravaggio, “Autorretrato como Baco enfermo”, 1593-94

21. Caravaggio, “El amor victorioso”
Caravaggio, “David y Goliath”

22. Joaquin Sorolla, “Cosiendo la vela”Rembrandt, “Autoretrato”
Rembrandt, “La ronda de noche”
Rembrandt, “Lección de anatomía”