Lighting Conductor
Country Life UK|November 20, 2019
Nick Trend enjoys an experimental new exhibition that explores the Dutch master’s use of light for dramatic effect
Lighting Conductor

REMBRANDT’S painting, Christ and St Mary Magdalene at the Tomb, shows Mary on her knees, praying, at the moment when the newly resurrected Christ reveals himself to her. It is dawn and the artist depicts the first cool light of day breaking over the distant towers of Jerusalem in the valley below. It rakes like a miraculous beam across the landscape, illuminating Christ’s white gown and Mary’s startled face. The symbolism is obvious, but the effect is brilliant.

The picture, a loan from the Royal Collection, is one of 35 paintings, etchings and drawings included in an innovative exhibition that explores Rembrandt’s mastery of light. Instead of showing it in a conventional way, the curators have blacked out part of the room and the painting has been lit with a single spotlight that, over a couple of minutes, steadily increases in intensity—from virtual darkness to full strength. The experience is genuinely remarkable. Because Rembrandt’s contrasts between light and dark are so intense, the lightest parts of the painting emerge from the gloom first. It really does seem that dawn is slowly breaking.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 20, 2019 من Country Life UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 20, 2019 من Country Life UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من COUNTRY LIFE UK مشاهدة الكل
SOS: save our wild salmon
Country Life UK

SOS: save our wild salmon

Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Into the deep
Country Life UK

Into the deep

Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel

time-read
4 mins  |
November 13, 2024
It's alive!
Country Life UK

It's alive!

Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters

time-read
4 mins  |
November 13, 2024
There's orange gold in them thar fields
Country Life UK

There's orange gold in them thar fields

A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
True blues
Country Life UK

True blues

I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Oh so hip
Country Life UK

Oh so hip

Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland

time-read
4 mins  |
November 13, 2024
A best kept secret
Country Life UK

A best kept secret

Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Rising supreme: the housethat stayed the course
Country Life UK

Rising supreme: the housethat stayed the course

A medieval manor in Derbyshire survives the building of a 'new hall' and two ancient Wiltshire properties reflect the care and innovation of successive families

time-read
5 mins  |
November 13, 2024
The decorated bathroom
Country Life UK

The decorated bathroom

Make your bathroom feel more like your sitting room, says Flora Soames

time-read
2 mins  |
November 13, 2024
The designer's room
Country Life UK

The designer's room

Sims Hilditch has created a cosseting space for a family to relax after a day on the sea

time-read
1 min  |
November 13, 2024