Using shadows to tell or add detail to a visual story. Examples by Robert Campin, Gérôme. William Holman Hunt, Lovis Corinth and others.
Zeissig
From the shadowed silhouette painted by the legendary Dibutades to paintings of families involved in shadow play.
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 