Paintings Group: Depicting Shimmer, Shine, and Iridescence

How did medieval and Renaissance artists render light? What materials did they choose for this?

Using nothing more than dry powder pigments in various vehicles artists depict the lit world in all its changeable qualities.

Barbara Berrie will talk on the outcome of her recent research on how artists from the Medieval period onwards through the Renaissance and on, experimented to depict lustre and sheen. They were able to exploit their materials’ inherent visual and physical properties, and shows they knew and used their materials in ways that are far beyond merely the manipulation of colour.