Light in Painting throughout the Centuries Medieval scholars attributed divine power to light: a luminous halo, a ray of 1. or the brilliance of gold indicated the presence of God. It was from the 15th century, with the Renaissance, that 2. was no longer regarded as a supernatural event, but as a means of investigating and describing reality and defining space together with perspective. This quality of light was accentuated in the Baroque era, when it was used to generate violent and dramatic contrasts of light and 3. tones. With the Impressionists, light gained fundamental importance through the juxtaposition of pure colours, with results of great brilliance and luminosity. The 20th century avant-gardes, especially Expressionism, placed particular emphasis on contrasts of light and 4. , often defined with violent, anti-naturalistic colours. Many contemporary 5. , on the other hand, use artificial light as the protagonist of their works, creating installations that move from darkness to semi-darkness to 6. light.
3. Choose the correct word in the text…
Landscapes at Sunset Sunsets are a great challenge for photographers. Not only is the colour of the light attractive, but also its 1. (low angle / frame) on the horizon gives greater texture to the landscape. Often, the appeal of a sunset is a brightly coloured sky containing reds, pinks, and oranges and the temptation can be to make the sky the 2. (focal / side) point of the image and throw everything else into 3. (shadow / silhouette). To catch a sharp profile, it is necessary to get a strong lighting difference between the subject in the foreground and the 4. (background / behindground), so the silhouette comes out exploiting the 5. (back / front) lighting. If there is an interesting skyline, this can help the composition; however, if not, you will end up with an image that may lose the interest of 6. (listeners / people) quickly.
3. … then complete the short list of tips below.
7. Remember that the colour of the is very attractive. 8. Wait until the sunset sky becomes coloured. 9. Make the sky the of the image, leave the rest in . 10. A strong lighting difference between the subject in the and the is necessary. 11. The comes out if you exploit lighting. 12. The composition may improve if there is an interesting .