Hello Mister Mullen,
I was quite impressed reading how you learned your craft. I've always read that a lot of cinematography-knowledgeable directors (like Polanski, Fritz Lang,...) had spent almost every day they could at the Louvre Museum in Paris. So I am looking and reading about painters.
There is something I realized looking at Vermeer paintings, I'd like to know what you think about the meaning of light.
People always say that when you see a Vermeer, you have a feeling of interiority.
And I realized one of the reasons was not only the setting (always inside) or the theme (quiet activities), but also the light:
1. you never see the source of the light, AND the light is totally soft at the same time as it is directional --> therefore you assume it is naturally inside, as though the outside wasnt the source, and as though the light wasnt stronger outside then inside.
2. A lot of objects which would normally reflect light, almost seem to be light sources (the bread in the Milkmaid seems almost over-exposed) [sorry I dont know how to paste images]
3. most of the light would be very hard to replicate in reality (which means Vermeer probably invented lighting in his paintings that he didnt see in front of him), since some of it, as mentionned above, is impossible [eg super soft AND at the same time directional lighting]
Therefore, it seems to me as though the light that doesnt come from outside, but almost shines from the inside, seems to make you feel that youre "inside the painting" (not the best way to describe the feeling, but you probably get what Im trying to say)
What do YOU think? Does light mean something about interiority?
Ben, Paris, France
I was quite impressed reading how you learned your craft. I've always read that a lot of cinematography-knowledgeable directors (like Polanski, Fritz Lang,...) had spent almost every day they could at the Louvre Museum in Paris. So I am looking and reading about painters.
There is something I realized looking at Vermeer paintings, I'd like to know what you think about the meaning of light.
People always say that when you see a Vermeer, you have a feeling of interiority.
And I realized one of the reasons was not only the setting (always inside) or the theme (quiet activities), but also the light:
1. you never see the source of the light, AND the light is totally soft at the same time as it is directional --> therefore you assume it is naturally inside, as though the outside wasnt the source, and as though the light wasnt stronger outside then inside.
2. A lot of objects which would normally reflect light, almost seem to be light sources (the bread in the Milkmaid seems almost over-exposed) [sorry I dont know how to paste images]
3. most of the light would be very hard to replicate in reality (which means Vermeer probably invented lighting in his paintings that he didnt see in front of him), since some of it, as mentionned above, is impossible [eg super soft AND at the same time directional lighting]
Therefore, it seems to me as though the light that doesnt come from outside, but almost shines from the inside, seems to make you feel that youre "inside the painting" (not the best way to describe the feeling, but you probably get what Im trying to say)
What do YOU think? Does light mean something about interiority?
Ben, Paris, France
