Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, 1663 - 1665, From the collection of: The State Hermitage Museum
The artist of this painting set the scene in a dark room. Light is shown entering one small doorway, casting shadows into the rest of the room and illuminating the faces shown.
The Vale of Rest, Sir John Everett Millais, Bt, 1858, From the collection of: Tate Britain
This painting displays light over the heads of the women as the sun is setting in the distance.
Portrait of A.V.Tropinin, Vasily Tropinin, about 1818, From the collection of: The State Tretyakov Gallery
Tropinin used light coming into the room on the left side of his subject's face to cast a shadow on the right side of his face. This technique makes the image more realistic and three-demensional.
Jan Vermeer van Delft used light minimally in this painting by encorporating a window partially closed, only casting light on certain areas of the room.
The Abduction of Europa, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1632, From the collection of: The J. Paul Getty Museum
Rembrandt used light in only half of this painting, illustrating Europa being stolen away by Zeus in the form of a bull. The scene behind them is cast in darkness to highlight the difference between the life of the gods and the mortals.
The Last Day of Pompeii, Karl Brullov, 1830/1833, From the collection of: The State Russian Museum
This painting realistically illustrates the contrast between the fire from the volcano and the black ash in the sky. Parts of the scene are darkened by the ash and others are extremely bright.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
