Light and Shadow

Every time I think of the word light I think of art. I remember seeing the Rembrandt and Renoir exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago when I was a college student. It’s one thing to see those paintings in a book and an entirely different experience to see them in person. First of all, most of the canvases are huge. Rembrandt’s “Sacrifice of Isaac” is listed as measuring 193×132 cm. When the painting is slightly more than 6 feet tall and hung about 8 feet from the floor it feels as if it is larger than life.

But what makes a Renaissance painting so breathtaking is the use of light and shadow. Rembrandt perfectly highlights the main subjects in each of his paintings as if a spot light is illuminating them. “Sacrifice of Isaac” is an amazing example of this. Isaac is the brightest image in the painting, as well as Abraham’s face as he gazes upon the angel. Also highlighted are the hands of both Abraham and the Angel and the sharpest edge of the knife as it falls out of Abraham’s hand. I think I stood in front of that painting for what seemed like several minutes in complete awe.

In art the word that describes this technique is called Chiaroscuro (English pronunciation: /kiˌɑːrəˈskjʊəroʊ/, Italian: [kjarosˈkuːro] “light-dark”).

I wanted to focus on bringing more light into this sometimes dark time of year. When I think of light in an artistic sense I’m always taken by the fact that in order to achieve the dramatic effect of light, you have to be able to train your eye to see darkness as well. Rembrandt and Renoir could look at something as simple as a tavern and its occupants or as profound as the hand of God preventing Abraham from murdering his beloved son and recognize how something as basic as light needed to be illustrated.

Rembrandt understood that in order to have light, you need to know how to paint the dark as well and the result is astounding. I love taking a good lesson from art. I believe that knowing how to use light to highlight the important subjects in our life is central to a happy existence. It’s not that the shadows of life don’t exist or should be eliminated. We need them to understand how light plays on the images of life and perfectly highlights our own story.

--you can read more of Beth's blog at www.theroadtofaith.com or follow her on facebook at www.facebook.com/theroadtofaith