Light For Art’s Sake – Art Lighting

You have a work of art but how do you keep its colors alive? Light greatly affects any work of art. In fact, light is such an important component that influenced the impressionists like Rembrandt. Choosing the appropriate art lighting is as hard as creating art itself. In museums, there’s a big issue as to what type of light should be used to enhance or maintain the original magnificence of paintings. Also, art lighting is critical in illuminating art pieces because any angles can make all the difference.

So what exactly is art lighting?

Many believe that natural light (sunlight) is the best type of light to use on art pieces. This actually is an incorrect notion. Aside from the fact the natural light is very hard to manage, the ultraviolet (UV) rays are very destructive rays from the sun. It can fade over time works on paper like pastels, photographs, prints and watercolors. It could also fade a textile’s color in just a few months. You wouldn’t want to do that on a masterpiece, would you?

Another type of art lighting that you can use are incandescent lights. However, this type of light has its positive and negative points. Incandescent lights bring out warm colors such as brown, orange, red , and yellow tones. Art lighting using incandescent lights can be good on landscapes but it isn’t on seascapes because it would only pall the cool colors.

While halogen lights have become popular these days, it has scared some art curators due to the strong white light that it emits. However, if properly installed, halogens can be a good solution for art lighting. A low-watt halogen light can bring out and preserve works of art. It’s also been known to redirect the damaging UV and infrared rays.

Art lighting, on the other hand, comes in various kinds that serve different types of art pieces. Picture light is as the name suggests, art lighting for paintings and portraits, unobtrusive ceiling spots; or an optical projector used in the homes and museums. Although the task of choosing the correct art lighting is easier than done, manufacturers today provides a wide array of art lighting that understands how color, texture, form, and shadow can be combined to create the effect you want for your masterpieces. These art lightings are widely available in the markets today. All it takes is a little know-how on art lighting for art’s sake.