"It's Impossible to Paint Light"

[00:00:00]There is a challenge that most painters throughout history preferred to avoid, [music] and that was painting light. An artist can paint a face, a landscape, or a piece of fabric with all the realism in the world, but light is something far [music] more complicated. Light itself has no shape, no contour, >> [music] >> and cannot be touched. Painting an entire scene illuminated by a single candle was considered one of the most difficult [music] technical challenges in existence. But the artist behind this painting did it masterfully. The scene you are looking at is lit by a single candle placed at the center of the table. [music] Around it, there are no windows, no natural light, and no other source of illumination.

[00:00:43]>> [music] >> And yet, everything in this image looks real, from the faces to the shadows to the golden glow on the fabrics.

[00:00:51]>> [music] >> The technical mastery of this painting is so incredible that it makes us wonder how it could possibly have been created more than 400 years ago.

[00:01:01]This work is called Christ before the high priest. [music] It was painted by the Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst around 1617, and today it is held at the National [music] Gallery in London. The scene depicts one of the most tense moments of the Passion [music] of Christ. What we are seeing is the moment when Jesus has been arrested and is being interrogated by the high [music] priest Caiaphas before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious court.

[00:01:27]>> [music] >> According to the Gospel of Matthew, it is during this interrogation that Christ declares himself to be the Messiah, a declaration that, under the Jewish law of the time, was punishable by death.

[00:01:39]But to understand how Honthorst came to master light in this way, we first need to know his story. Honthorst was born in Utrecht [music] in 1592 and trained under Abraham Bloemaert, the most important painter in his city. But his true education began around 1610 [music] when he traveled to Rome, where something happened that would change his career forever. Honthorst settled in the palace of Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani, >> [music] >> one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Rome, and one of the greatest art collectors of his time. His collection [music] grew to more than 600 paintings, and among them were several works by an artist who had died [music] just a few years earlier, none other than Caravaggio. From a very young age, he was surely captivated by the deep darkness Caravaggio painted, pierced by a dramatic light, and it would later become the foundation of his entire style. But, Honthorst did not limit himself to imitating Caravaggio. He did something that Caravaggio himself almost never did, and that was placing the source of light inside [music] the painting. In fact, the Italians called him Gerardo delle Notti, which in English would be something like Gerard [music] of the Nights.

[00:02:53]In this painting, we see no crowds, nor do we see details of elaborate architecture. [music] When creating this work, Honthorst eliminated everything that was not essential, and [music] built the entire composition around the lit candle on the table. That candle is the heart of the painting, and everything [music] else exists in relation to it. On the left side of the composition, the high priest Caiaphas sits with an open book in front of him. That book contains [music] the prescriptions of Mosaic Law, the law under which Christ is being judged. His hand is raised with [music] his index finger extended in the middle of the interrogation. It is the gesture of someone who accuses, or rather, of someone who demands [music] an answer.

[00:03:38]Standing before him is Christ, with his hands tied and his head slightly bowed.

[00:03:43]His light-colored robe reflects the candlelight more than any other surface in [music] the painting, making him the most illuminated figure in the entire scene. In front of him, two figures can barely be seen watching from the shadows. [music] These are the false witnesses who, according to the gospel, were brought in to [music] testify against Jesus. And this is where we arrive at what makes this painting truly extraordinary.

[00:04:09]Painting a scene [music] lit by a candle presents a technical problem that many call nearly impossible. The light of a flame is neither stable nor uniform.

[00:04:18][music] It is warm at the center and cools as it moves away. It falls on faces from below, creating inverted shadows that distort [music] the features, and it fades into darkness gradually without defined edges.

[00:04:32]Honthorst solved every [music] single one of those problems. If we look at the faces of Christ and Caiaphas, we can see they are lit from below with that golden flickering light that only a flame produces. The shadows fall upward. The folds of the fabrics light up at the points closest to the candle [music] and gradually fade toward the edges of the canvas. But the light in this painting is not just a technical demonstration.

[00:04:58]It is also the message.

[00:04:59]>> [music] >> In the Christian tradition, Christ is the light of the world. And Honthorst built the entire scene around that idea.

[00:05:07]Christ's robe reflects the light more than any other surface. His face remains serene, illuminated, [music] while that of Caiaphas, despite being at the same distance from the candle, appears harder, more marked by shadows.

[00:05:21]Some historians have pointed out that the candle placed between the two men functions as something more than a source of light. It functions as a witness, the only impartial presence in the scene where everything else, the court, the witnesses, the book of the law, has been arranged to condemn an innocent man. Keeping in mind that light reveals and darkness hides, in this painting every figure receives exactly the amount of light their role deserves.

[00:05:49]Curiously, this painting is not an image that should be famous [music] today. If we look at its format, this work has the shape and dimensions of an altarpiece.

[00:05:57]It stands more than 2 and 1/2 m tall, and its subject is deeply religious.

[00:06:02][music] Anyone would think it was created to preside over the altar of a church, but the [music] reality is different.

[00:06:09]Honthorst painted it for the private gallery of Matthias >> [music] >> Justi diani, which means this scene of devotion was conceived from the very beginning as an object of personal contemplation for one of the wealthiest men in Rome. And for almost two centuries, [music] it could only be seen by those who had access to the Giustiniani family [music] palace. The painting remained in that collection until 1804. It then passed through several hands throughout the 19th century, until finally, in 1922, it arrived at the National Gallery in London, where today it is contemplated by millions of people [music] every year. When Honthorst returned to Utrecht in 1620, he brought with him everything he had learned in Rome. His candlelit scenes became so famous that he went on to work for King Charles I >> [music] >> of England, becoming one of the few Dutch painters of his generation to achieve international fame. But none of his later work surpassed what he achieved here. All this man needed was a simple room with a single candle to [music] prove to the entire world that painting light was completely possible.

[00:07:18]I would love for you to leave me in the comments which detail of this [music] painting you find most impressive, and of course, whether you believe the candle in this scene has a deeper meaning than simply lighting the room.

[00:07:29]As always, I would like to remind you that if you would like to have this work in your collection, you can purchase it from the link in the description. In our catalog, you will find more than 1,000 carefully selected historical works for you to choose your favorites and begin your own art collection. Additionally, on our website, >> [music] >> you will find phone cases available, so that besides protecting your phone, you can carry a work of art with you [music] at all times. Shipping is completely free worldwide, and I remind you that by purchasing from the website, you will be supporting me enormously in continuing to create videos like this every week.

[00:08:06]Thank you for your support, and I will see you in the next video.