Time and again, artists have used innovative techniques to capture special effects on canvas or paper. These include the illusion of light. In the exhibition Paper and Light, the Getty Museum presents 30 drawings from different centuries in which their creators were particularly creative. The first of three sections, entitled Highlights and Reserves, includes Longships Lighthouse, Land's End (circa 1834-1835) by William Turner (1775-1851). Turner used various techniques in this watercolor to create the stormy atmosphere. In places, he smudged the paint with a rag and scratched the color with his fingernail to emphasize bright points of light, for example.
In the second section, Through Paper: Using Translucency, the museum presents, among other things, Figures Walking in a Parkland (1783-1800) by Louis Carroigs de Carmontelle (1717-1806), a 12-foot-long watercolor (around 3.6 m). It was originally placed in front of a window and was illuminated by sunlight. This effect is recreated in the exhibition installation. The third section, Life Class: Three Artists Draw a Model, demonstrates how different artists, including Émile-Jules Pichot (1857-1936) and Georges Seurat (1859-1891), depicted the same model differently, including the play of light and shadow. Other artists featured in the exhibition, which runs from October 15, 2024 to January 19, 2025, include Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Odilon Redon (1840-1916) and Guercino (1591-1666).
