Renaissance Lighting

The Renaissance was an era of new perspective. Artists such as Da Vinci, Brunelleschi and Massaccio introduced the concept of 3D art on a 2D plane and one point perspective. Oil paint was also introduced, giving a whole new medium for artists to work with. Subjects of art were often used as symbolism or documentation. Art wasn't just used for decoration but also to send a message to those who would see it or even used as important documents such as wedding certificates (as seen in the Arnold-Feeney Wedding by Jan Van Eyck.)

This week, I played with studio lighting to mimic the lighting in a Renaissance painting called The Magdalen Reading by Ambrosius Benson. Mary Magdalen was one of Benson's greatest muses alongside Sybil Persica. He treated these women in a very similar manner. This particular painting was most likely influenced by Rogier van der Weyden's painting under the same title.


I used DSLR camera on my friend, Cecilia with a shutter speed of 1/13 and an aperture of f14.


Ambrosius Benson was an Italian painter who moved to Bruges, Belgium to be part of the Northern Renaissance. There's very little information about Benson and he didn't have much influence in Renaissance. However, he was very successful and was known at the time for being a religious leader within the artistic community.