Gombrich Themes, Part 1, 1989

In this two-part program, Austrian art historian Sir Ernst Gombrich (1909–2001) discusses the natural phenomenon of light and its representation in art. Part 1 focuses on illumination, the rendering of shadows and how the direction of the source of light creates different effects. Gombrich shows how artists used modeling and hatching—techniques to depict the relationship between light and shade. Gombrich points out passages from the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci to give insight into the artist’s study of illumination. He also comments on the representation of divine and natural light in a nativity scene by Rembrandt, and the psychological effects of light in landscapes, such as Vermeer’s View of Delft. Filmed in Gombrich’s London home, he demonstrates his ideas using numerous objects and works of art.