'Standing between Darkness and Light' Shadows in Western Art from ancient times to the present

Defined by Leonardo da Vinci as 'standing between darkness and light,' shadows are and always have been everywhere, but they are not always depicted in art. The origins of the depiction of shadows in art, will be traced, but they were rarely shown in Classical, Early Christian and medieval art. The portrayal of shadows really comes into its own in Renaissance Italy - linked with the immense advances in scientific study and new learning (especially optics). Shadows can be used to give bodily and other forms a three-dimensionality hitherto not achieved, or as the actual depiction of cast shadows, sometimes with symbolic meaning. Shadows were used to bring a psychological or even magical resonance to Renaissance painting. And the use of shadows in art as mysterious, ethereal or even divine has continued to the present day. Accredited Lecturer Dr Valerie Shrimplin tells us more.