"It's Impossible to Paint Light"

Around 1617, Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst painted an entire scene illuminated by a single candle. No windows, no natural light, no other source of illumination. Painting light was considered one of the most difficult technical challenges in art. The light of a flame is neither stable nor uniform, it distorts faces, and it fades into darkness without defined edges. Most painters simply avoided it. But Honthorst solved every single one of those problems. And he did it so masterfully that the Italians gave him a nickname: Gherardo delle Notti. Gerard of the Nights. In this video we explore how he achieved the impossible, and why the candle in this painting may hold a much deeper meaning than simply lighting the room. ► Shop "Christ before the High Priest" (c. 1617) at - https://www.inspiraggio.com/products/christ-before-the-high-priest-gerard-van-honthorst-c-1617 ► Shop Art Prints & Canvas at - https://www.inspiraggio.com/collections/shop-all ► Shop Fine Art Phone Cases at - https://www.inspiraggio.com/collections/iphone-cases → Join our FREE newsletter: https://www.inspiraggio.com/pages/newsletter → Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiraggio → Contact: [email protected] 0:00 Introduction 1:45 Gerard van Honthorst 2:53 Christ before the High Priest 4:09 The Light 5:49 History SOURCES The National Gallery, London — Official entry https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gerrit-van-honthorst-christ-before-the-high-priest Google Arts & Culture — "Light and Shadow of Truth: Christ Before the High Priest" https://artsandculture.google.com/story/light-and-shadow-of-truth-%E2%80%93-christ-before-the-high-priest/xAIyO_gvrm0lIw Google Arts & Culture — Christ before the High Priest https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/christ-before-the-high-priest-gerrit-van-honthorst/6wFp0Y3GxWhwQg DailyArt Magazine — Christ Before the High Priest https://www.getdailyart.com/en/23698/gerard-van-honthorst/christ-before-the-high-priest Wikipedia — Christ Before the High Priest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Before_the_High_Priest #arthistory #art Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.