Darkness and depth in early Renaissance painting

Christopher Tyler

doi:10.1117/12.846851

22 February 2010 Darkness and depth in early Renaissance painting

Christopher Tyler

Proceedings Volume 7527, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XV; 75270V (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.846851
Event: IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging, 2010, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Contrast has always been appreciated as a significant factor in image quality, but it is less widely recognized that it is a key factor in the representation of depth, solidity and three-dimensionality in images in general, and in paintings in particular. This aspect of contrast was a key factor in the introduction of oil paint as a painting medium at the beginning of the fifteenth century, as a practical means of contrast enhancement. However, recent conservatorship efforts have established that the first oil paintings were not, as commonly supposed, by van Eyck in Flanders in the 1430s, but by Masolino da Panicale in Italy in the 1420s. These developments led to the use of chiaroscuro technique in various forms, all of which are techniques for enhanced shadowing.

Citation Download Citation

Christopher Tyler "Darkness and depth in early Renaissance painting", Proc. SPIE 7527, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XV, 75270V (22 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.846851

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