The masters of the brush

[Leigh Elford]

I keep hearing about how some great DoPs have studied lots of the old painters from history. I've tried to find some websites that show some famous paintings and have found a few. Now, when ever I want to learn about the meaning/lighting/composition of the great paintings I find they never have what im looking for. They always have information about the painter or when it was painted. But never about the things that interest me. So if anyone has any information on good books/websites that might have the information then that would be great.

 

Thanks

 

Leigh Elford

[David Auner aac]

I keep hearing about how some great DoPs have studied lots of the old painters from history. I've tried to find some websites that show some famous paintings and have found a few. Now, when ever I want to learn about the meaning/lighting/composition of the great paintings I find they never have what im looking for.

 

Hi Leigh,

 

I'd really commend going to museums and look at the originals (even replicas are good). As someone who often does reproductions of artwork I can tell you it the photo is never even close to the original, even if made well. And most website don't have really good pics. And with books the printing problem comes in too. So try and go to museums and galleries whenever you can. And to learn about the lighting it is best to ask yourself questions about the light when looking at the picture. Where does it come from? What quality of light is it? Hard? Soft? etc...

 

Cheers, Dave

[Paul Bruening]

What are the closest museums to you? Nothing can quite reproduce the real thing.

 

Painting is most often described in its own terms. Rarely does an author convert art into cinematography terms. A current art history textbook wouldn't be a bad place to read up. You can get them cheaper and used in a college town. At first assumption reading about art on its own terms might seem inefficient for a cinematographer. However, art is an old language. Much older than cinematography. Its not just that master DoPs study painting. They also acquire the perspective and ancient wisdom of painting.

 

Get yourself a nice textbook like Gardner's Art Through the Ages.