The story of Dibutades who painted the outline of her boyfriend’s shadow, leading to early struggles with the optics of cast shadows, their use as cues to depth and shape, and appearance in landscapes. Paintings of shadow play.
Moroni
Explaining shade, attached and cast shadows seen in paintings. While the first two have been generally painted faithfully, cast shadows are more complicated.
From the shadowed silhouette painted by the legendary Dibutades to paintings of families involved in shadow play.
Look for series covering the life and paintings of Raphael, the Swedish Anders Zorn, Amedeo Modigliani, and articles on others with anniversaries this year.
Was painting ‘invented’ by the maid of Corinth? What is ‘shadow play’, and how have painters extended it to religious works? A short history of shadows in painting.
The Eclectic Light Company 