What is so great about Rembrandt lighting?

[Tom Edgerton]

Joan--

I appreciate your frustration, but here's a (perhaps too) simplified explanation of "why it's so great." Richard has put it better than me, but I want to chime in and stress how really important shadow shape is.

Accurately painting the outside contour and, perhaps more importantly, the shape of the shadows, goes more toward capturing and defining form on a two-dimensional surface than anything else. So-called Rembrandt lighting is essentially a three-quarter light--at a 45 degree angle off of dead center (more or less), designed to unite the shadows into a unified, pleasing, and interestingly shaped mass. Move the light a little more to the front, and the magic triangle of light connects to some of the lights on the bottom of the face and chin, and the LIGHTS become connected into a pleasing mass also. Anywhere in this general area--a roughly three-quarter direction off of center--is the optimum placement for the light to describe form and mass. More shadow on the face and the available contrast range to describe form diminishes, as does light coming directly from the viewer's point of view--in other words, flash-lit photos.

It's why artists working from really sorry, flash-lit photography wonder why their paintings look so horrible, as Karin points out. The flat lighting from the camera mounted flash kills all available shadow, and the contrast range available for describing form drops to nil. Put simply, all shadow shape "washes out."

I'm not saying that any other light but three-quarter light should be avoided, but a basic knowledge of this optimum form lighting, plus continual experimentation with lighting the subject from a variety of angles is essential. Light and shadow is what we have to work with--it's virtually the whole ball game.

Once an artist learns that shadow shape may be the most important factor in creating an illusion of three dimensional mass on a flat surface, and seeks or creates lighting that gives a strong, interesting shape to the shadow(s), their work improves dramatically.

Fight for this understanding and apply it to your work--it's really important.

Best as always--TE

(As a result of this discussion, I walked over and incrementally deepened and simplified the shadow under a subject's nose in a WIP, and everything in the painting suddenly became a lot deeper and more three-dimensional.)