Light-dark, sun, reflections and color
Top 100 painters of light: chiaroscuro, sun and reflections
From Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Turner to Monet, Sorolla, Rothko, Soulages, Turrell and Hockney, this guide follows the artists who made light a central subject.
Light can reveal a face, dissolve a landscape, make a reflection tremble, or turn a color into an experience. It runs through the entire history of painting: candle flame, Dutch window, Mediterranean sun, English fog, impressionist snow, modern neon lights and abstract fields.
Before the grid
Light as the great subject of painting
In painting, light is never just what allows us to see. It decides the drama in Caravaggio, the silence in Vermeer, the infinity in Friedrich, the storm in Turner, the moment in Monet and the colorful vibration in Rothko or Frankenthaler.
This classification crosses the European and American schools, the masters of chiaroscuro, landscapers, impressionists, luminists, wild animals, painters of reflections, abstract colorists and contemporary artists who have made light a material in its own right.
Top 1 to 10
Chiaroscuro, windows and classic sun
Caravaggio, La Tour, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Claude Lorrain and Cuyp show how light becomes theater, silence, depth and atmosphere.
#1
Caravaggio
Caravaggio transforms light into a moral spotlight: it cuts through the shadows, reveals bodies and imposes a theatrical presence.
See the Caravaggio collection
#2
Georges de La Tour
The Tower concentrates the world around a flame: faces, hands and silence become pure luminous meditation.
See the Georges de La Tour collection
#3
Rembrandt
Rembrandt vibrates light like spiritual matter, capable of illuminating both the soul and the face.
See the Rembrandt collection
#4
Johannes Vermeer
Vermeer gives domestic light an almost musical precision: walls, beads and fabrics breathe slowly.
See the Johannes Vermeer collection
#5
Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain invents an ideal landscape where the sun organizes ports, ruins, horizons and atmospheric depth.
See the Claude Lorrain collection
#6
Diego Velazquez
Velazquez paints a discreet, sovereign light, which gives the figures their real weight without unnecessary effect.
See the Diego Velazquez collection
#7
Peter paul rubens
Rubens circulates light through flesh, drapes and skies like continuous baroque energy.
See the Peter Paul Rubens collection
#8
Anthony van Dyck
Van Dyck softens the baroque brilliance into an aristocratic, elegant light, suspended on faces and fabrics.
See the Anthony van Dyck collection
#9
Aelbert Cuyp
Cuyp envelops herds, riders and rivers in a low, golden sun, which has become emblematic of the Dutch landscape.
See the Aelbert Cuyp collection
#10
Jacob van Ruisdael
Ruisdael gives the clouds and clearings a dramatic power that makes the entire landscape breathe.
See the Jacob van Ruisdael collectionRanks 11 to 20
Skies, reflections and romance
From Dutch skies to Turner and Constable, light leaves the setting to become the emotional engine of the landscape.
#11
Meindert Hobbema
Hobbema paints a light of paths, mills and undergrowth, precise without losing its softness.
See the Meindert Hobbema collection
#12
Canaletto
Canaletto fixes the reflections, facades and Venetian waters in a clear, almost crystalline light.
See the Canaletto collection
#13
Francesco Guardi
Guardi makes Venice more vibrant than measured: fast touches, sparkling waters and unstable atmosphere.
See the Francesco Guardi collection
#14
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Fragonard brings light into the foliage, fabrics and gestures with joyful virtuosity.
See the Jean-Honoré Fragonard collection
#15
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
Chardin illuminates ordinary objects with a dull tenderness: fruits, glasses and tables become presence.
See the Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin collection
#16
Francisco Goya
Goya uses light to make fear clearer: lanterns, nights and contrasts become accusation.
See the Francisco Goya collection
#17
Caspar david friedrich
Friedrich transforms dawn, moon and fog into metaphysical signs, open to infinity.
See the Caspar David Friedrich collection
#18
John Constable
Constable studies clouds, humidity and changing light as a sensitive landscape science.
See the John Constable collection
#19
JMW Turner
Turner dissolves forms in steam, fire, sea and sun until he comes close to abstraction.
See the JMW Turner collection
#20
Camille Corot
Corot paints a soft, silvery light, which connects the classic landscape to modern sensibilities.
See the Camille Corot collectionRanks 21 to 30
Barbizon, beaches and the birth of impressionism
Corot, Millet, Daubigny, Boudin, Jongkind, Manet, Monet and Renoir move the painting towards the open air, the reflections and the sensation.
#21
Theodore Rousseau
Rousseau captures clearings, trunks and heavy skies with deep forest light.
See the Théodore Rousseau collection
#22
Jean-Francois Millet
Millet gives the peasant evening a luminous gravity: work becomes silhouette, prayer and horizon.
See the Jean-François Millet collection
#23
Charles-Francois Daubigny
Daubigny prepares impressionism with its waters, its banks and its reflections painted directly on the motif.
See the Charles-François Daubigny collection
#24
Eugene Boudin
Boudin makes the Norman skies a mobile theater of clouds, breeze and marine light.
See the Eugène Boudin collection
#25
Johan Barthold Jongkind
Jongkind lights up ports, canals and nights with a free touch that announces Monet.
See the Johan Barthold Jongkind collection
#26
Édouard Manet
Manet simplifies values, contrasts blacks and whites, and gives modern light frontal sharpness.
See the Édouard Manet collection#27
Claude Monet
Monet makes light the very subject of painting: series, reflections, fogs, snow, sun and water lilies.
See the Claude Monet collection
#28
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Renoir makes light dance on skins, foliage and outdoor scenes with colorful sensuality.
See the Pierre-Auguste Renoir collection
#29
Camille Pissarro
Pissarro observes the light of fields, roads, markets and boulevards with a profoundly modern patience.
See the Camille Pissarro collection
#30
Alfred Sisley
Sisley excels in rivers, snow and soft skies where light seems to breathe noiselessly.
See the Alfred Sisley collectionRanks 31 to 40
Intimate impressionism, modern city and nocturnal
Sisley, Morisot, Cassatt, Caillebotte, Degas, Whistler and Homer explore snow, glass, stage, sea and artificial lights.
#31
Berthe Morisot
Morisot paints a fast, clear and domestic light, made of air, white, gestures and transparencies.
See the Berthe Morisot collection
#32
Mary Cassatt
Cassatt uses light to make tenderness modern: light interiors, close faces and bold colors.
See the Mary Cassatt collection
#33
Gustave Caillebotte
Caillebotte paints the light of Paris: wet cobblestones, windows, perspectives and reflections of the modern city.
See the Gustave Caillebotte collection
#34
Armand Guillaumin
Guillaumin pushes impressionism towards more fiery colors, pink skies and irradiated landscapes.
See the Armand Guillaumin collection
#35
Frédéric Bazille
Bazille gives the open-air figures a sharp and promising southern clarity.
See the Frédéric Bazille collection
#36
Eva Gonzales
Gonzalès works with whites, skin tones and bright interiors with a very modern elegance.
See the Eva Gonzalès collection
#37
Edgar Degas
Degas explores lamps, stages, dressing rooms and studios: a cut, observed, almost photographic light.
See the Edgar Degas collection
#38
James McNeill Whistler
Whistler transforms fog, night and reflections into subtle harmonies where light becomes music.
See the James McNeill Whistler collection
#39
Winslow Homer
Homer gives maritime light direct force: waves, foam, harsh sun and human solitude.
See the Winslow Homer collection
#40
John Singer Sargent
Sargent captures whites, reflections of water, fabrics and faces with incomparable luminous virtuosity.
See the John Singer Sargent collectionRanks 41 to 50
Northern suns, Mediterranean and American luminism
Sargent, Sorolla, Zorn, Krøyer, Hammershøi, Larsson, Backer, Thaulow, Bierstadt and Church broaden the spectrum of light.
#41
Joaquin Sorolla
Sorolla paints the sun like a white tide: beaches, sails, children, water and vibrant heat.
See the Joaquin Sorolla collection
#42
Anders Zorn
Zorn dangles water, skin and whites with dazzling economy of means.
See the Anders Zorn collection
#43
Peder Severin Krøyer
Krøyer combines Skagen beaches, blue twilights and northern light in calm poetry.
See the Peder Severin Krøyer collection
#44
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Hammershøi paints a gray, interior light that transforms empty rooms into places of thought.
See the Vilhelm Hammershøi collection
#45
Carl Larsson
Larsson gives the Nordic house a clear, decorative and family light.
See the Carl Larsson collection
#46
Harriet Backer
Backer brings light into Norwegian interiors with remarkable color accuracy.
See the Harriet Backer collection
#47
Frits Thaulow
Thaulow excels in rivers, snow and cold reflections, almost tactilely clear.
See the Frits Thaulow collection
#48
Albert bierstadt
Bierstadt magnifies mountains, valleys and sunsets in luminous visions of the American West.
See the Albert Bierstadt collection
#49
Frederic Edwin Church
Church builds vast landscapes where sun, mist and horizon become a cosmic spectacle.
See the Frederic Edwin Church collection
#50
Martin Johnson Heade
Heade paints swamps, thunderstorms and sunsets with restrained, almost still light.
See the Martin Johnson Heade collectionRanks 51 to 60
American atmospheres and modern solitude
Heade, Gifford, Kensett, Inness, Hassam, Chase, Benson, Twachtman and Hopper show sensitive, urban or silent light.
#51
Sanford Robinson Gifford
Gifford makes atmospheric light the true subject of his American and Mediterranean landscapes.
See the Sanford Robinson Gifford collection
#52
John Frederick Kensett
Kensett reduces the landscape to calm balances of water, sky and light.
See the John Frederick Kensett Collection
#53
George Inness
Inness spiritualizes the light of the landscape, between American realism and an almost mystical atmosphere.
See the George Inness collection
#54
Childe Hassam
Hassam makes streets, gardens, flags and windows vibrate in an American impressionist light.
See the Childe Hassam collection
#55
William Merritt Chase
Chase paints the light of parks, beaches and workshops with a lively and international elegance.
See the William Merritt Chase collection
#56
Frank Weston Benson
Benson captures white dresses, sea winds and summer sun in bright outdoor scenes.
See the Frank Weston Benson collection
#57
John Henry Twachtman
Twachtman paints a muffled, snowy light that transforms the landscape into an intimate sensation.
See the John Henry Twachtman collection
#58
Edward Hopper
Hopper cuts the light into rectangles of solitude: windows, facades, neon lights and silent rooms.
Read Edward Hopper's biography on Wikipedia
#59
Georges Seurat
Seurat analyzes light by points, contrasts and optical mixtures with monumental rigor.
See the Georges Seurat collection
#60
Paul Signac
Signac fragments ports, sails and suns into colorful mosaics of luminous intensity.
See the Paul Signac collectionRanks 61 to 70
Divisionism, expressive sun and symbolism
Seurat, Signac, Cross, Van Rysselberghe, Luce, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Redon and Klimt make the light vibrate with color.
#61
Henri Edmond Cross
Cross pushes divisionism towards southern landscapes where color becomes radiance.
See the Henri-Edmond Cross collection
#62
Theo van Rysselberghe
Van Rysselberghe gives portraits and shores a light constructed by colorful and vibrant touches.
See the Théo van Rysselberghe collection
#63
Maximilian Luce
Luce applies the neo-impressionist vibration to ports, factories, streets and workers.
See the Maximilien Luce collection
#64
Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh charges the sun, stars and fields with almost incandescent emotional intensity.
See the Vincent van Gogh collection
#65
Paul Gauguin
Gauguin simplifies shadows and lights into large, colorful, decorative and symbolic areas.
See the Paul Gauguin collection
#66
Paul Cezanne
Cézanne reconstructs light through colorful planes: it becomes structure as much as atmosphere.
See the Paul Cézanne collection
#67
Odilon Redon
Redon radiates flowers, visions and pastels like apparitions from an inner world.
See the Odilon Redon collection
#68
Gustav Klimt
Klimt transforms light into gold, mosaic, decorative surface and sensual shine.
See the Gustav Klimt collection
#69
Egon Schiele
Schiele illuminates bodies with raw whites and tense backgrounds, like a psychological light.
See the Egon Schiele collection
#70
Ferdinand Hodler
Hodler gives mountains, lakes and figures a clear, symbolic and monumental light.
See the Ferdinand Hodler collectionRanks 71 to 80
Alps, Nabis, Fauves and decorative light
Schiele, Hodler, Segantini, Vallotton, Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, Matisse, Derain and Vlaminck transform light into an expressive surface.
#71
Giovanni Segantini
Segantini makes the Alps sparkle with a divided, luminous and spiritual touch.
See the Giovanni Segantini collection
#72
Felix Vallotton
Vallotton cuts the light into flat areas, harsh shadows and scenes of sometimes disturbing clarity.
See the Felix Vallotton collection
#73
Pierre Bonnard
Bonnard makes the interior a chamber of colorful light: yellows, mauves, mirrors and windows vibrate together.
See the Pierre Bonnard collection
#74
Édouard Vuillard
Vuillard diffuses light into wallpapers, fabrics and presences, like an intimate pattern.
See the Édouard Vuillard collection
#75
Maurice Denis
Denis organizes light into decorative, religious and family surfaces.
See the Maurice Denis collection
#76
Henri Matisse
Matisse makes light a colorful joy: windows, workshops, odalisques, paper cutouts and the Mediterranean.
See the Henri Matisse collection
#77
André Derain
Derain sets London, Collioure and the landscapes ablaze with tawny colors saturated with light.
See the André Derain collection
#78
Maurice de Vlaminck
Vlaminck pushes the landscape towards a violent, colorful, almost electric light.
Read the biography of Maurice de Vlaminck on Wikipedia
#79
Raoul Dufy
Dufy paints a light, marine and festive light, made of fast lines and transparent colors.
See the Raoul Dufy collection
#80
Albert Marquet
Marquet observes ports, quays, rivers and mists with a very safe light economy.
See the Albert Marquet collectionRanks 81 to 90
Ports, simultaneism, abstraction and colored fields
Dufy, Marquet, Delaunay, Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, O'Keeffe, de Staël, Rothko and Newman open the light towards abstraction.
#81
Kees van Dongen
Van Dongen electrifies faces, nights and worldly colors with incisive artificial light.
Read Kees van Dongen's biography on Wikipedia
#82
Robert Delaunay
Delaunay makes modern light a rhythm of circles, contrasts, windows and simultaneous colors.
See the Robert Delaunay collection
#83
Sonia Delaunay
Sonia Delaunay deploys light in textile rhythms, circles, contrasts and vibrant surfaces.
Read Sonia Delaunay's biography on Wikipedia
#84
Wassily Kandinsky
Kandinsky releases the color of the object: light becomes inner vibration and musical composition.
See the Wassily Kandinsky collection
#85
Paul Klee
Klee constructs a fragile, graphic light, made of signs, transparencies and colorful architecture.
See the Paul Klee collection
#86
Lyonel Feininger
Feininger breaks down cities, churches and seas into prismatic planes crossed by light.
See the Lyonel Feininger collection
#87
Georgia O'Keeffe
O'Keeffe gives New Mexico's flowers, bones and landscapes monumental, silent clarity.
Read Georgia O'Keeffe's biography on Wikipedia
#88
Nicholas of Stael
De Staël condenses the light into blocks of color, between landscape, abstraction and pure sensation.
See the Nicolas de Staël collection
#89
Mark Rothko
Rothko makes color an inner, breathable, almost meditative light.
Read Mark Rothko's biography on Wikipedia
#90
Barnett Newman
Newman reduces painting to large light fields crossed by vertical zips.
Read Barnett Newman's biography on WikipediaRanks 91 to 100
Contemporary, optical and immersive light
Frankenthaler, Martin, Soulages, Klein, Turrell, Hockney, Richter, Kiefer, Riley and Eliasson make light a physical and mental experience.
#91
Helen Frankenthaler
Frankenthaler lets the color soak the canvas like liquid, open, atmospheric light.
Read Helen Frankenthaler's biography on Wikipedia
#92
Agnes Martin
Martin seeks a mental light, made of pale grids, fine vibrations and contemplative silence.
Read Agnes Martin's biography on Wikipedia
#93
Pierre Soulages
Soulages turns black on the luminous surface: light is born from streaks, reflections and materials.
Read the biography of Pierre Soulages on Wikipedia
#94
Yves Klein
Klein transforms pure color into luminous, immaterial, almost atmospheric space.
Read Yves Klein's biography on Wikipedia
#95
James Turrell
Turrell makes light itself a space to perceive, between painting, architecture and sensory experience.
Read James Turrell's biography on Wikipedia
#96
David Hockney
Hockney paints swimming pools, windows, reflections and landscapes with clear, graphic and contemporary light.
Read David Hockney's biography on Wikipedia
#97
Gerhard Richter
Richter explores photographic light, blur, reflection and abstract color as unstable memory.
Read Gerhard Richter's biography on Wikipedia
#98
Anselm Kiefer
Kiefer contrasts dark matter, ashes, pellets and golden shards in a heavy historical light.
Read Anselm Kiefer's biography on Wikipedia
#99
Bridget Riley
Riley transforms lines and colors into luminous vibrations that directly activate the gaze.
Read Bridget Riley's biography on Wikipedia
#100
Olafur Eliasson
Eliasson works with light, climate, reflections and perceptions as a total artistic material.
Read Olafur Eliasson's biography on WikipediaMethod
How the 100 artists were selected
The selection favors artists for whom light is not a simple effect, but a principle of composition: chiaroscuro, atmosphere, outdoors, reflections, sun, snow, night, optical color or light field.
The classification balances historical importance, influence on other painters, visual strength, diversity of periods and the ability of each artist to renew our way of seeing.
Choose an entry
Where to start?
For chiaroscuro, start with Caravaggio, The Tower, Rembrandt and Vermeer. For the luminous landscape, look at Claude Lorrain, Friedrich, Constable, Turner, Corot and Daubigny.
For reflections and modern light, continue with Monet, Sisley, Caillebotte, Whistler, Sorolla, Seurat, Signac and Bonnard. For a more abstract reading, go to Delaunay, Kandinsky, Klee, de Staël, Rothko, Soulages, Turrell and Riley.
To see light is to see painting think
These hundred artists show that light can be story, material, color, rhythm or pure sensation. It dramatizes, soothes, cuts, dissolves, heats, blinds or reveals.
From chiaroscuro to the other black, from the reflections of Venice to the water lilies of Monet, from the sun of Sorolla to the colorful fields of Rothko, light remains one of the greatest engines in the history of painting.
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