Interpreting Art with Light: Museum Lighting between Objectivity and Hyperrealism

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristic properties (x) for the six types of display: (1) white cube, (2) minimalist accenting, (3) dramatic display, (4) black box, (5) hyperrealism, and (6) dynamism.

Form of display	1	2	3	4	5	6
Brightness contrast
Low	x
Medium		x
High			x	x	x	x
Dynamic						x
Spectrum
Color temperature uniform	x	x	x
Color temperature contrast		x	x	x	x	x
Color rendition high	x	x	x	x
Metamerism					x	x
Colored light					x	x
Colored light dynamic						x
Daylight
Daylight diffuse	x	x				x
Daylight direct			x			x
Luminaires
Wallwasher	x	x				x
Spotlights		x	x	x	x	x
Contour spotlights			x	x	x	x
Grazing light			x	x	x	x
Wall
White	x	x			x	x
Medium gray or colored wall		x	x		x	x
Dark gray or colored wall			x	x	x

Fig. 1. The exhibition spaces as white cubes support the objective viewing of art. The uniform wallwashing does not differentiate between the art and the wall plane to give a generous spatial impression. Richard Nonas/Donald Judd exhibition in the Fergus McCaffrey gallery, New York. Photography: Edgar Zippel. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 2. Concept 1—White cube: Uniform spatial impression due to homogenous wallwashing. Rendering: Axel Groß. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 3. Accent lighting at the Louvre Lens museum emphasizes the exhibits below the daylight ceiling in a very subtle way to create a peaceful atmosphere. Architecture: SANAA, Tokyo. Exhibition design: Studio Adrien Gardère. Museum lighting and installation: ACL Alexis Coussement. Lighting design: Arup, London. Photography: Iwan Baan. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 4. The foreground achieves a harmonious relationship between the gold color and red wall while the artwork significantly distances itself from the wall in the background. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. Architecture: Alessandra Quarto/Angelo Rossi. Photography: Dirk Vogel. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 5. Concept 2—Minimalist accenting: Subtle accenting via a combination of uniform wallwashing and dimmed accent lighting. The colored wall establishes an additional contrast with the warm-toned picture and red background. Rendering: Axel Groß. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 6. The intensive play of light and shadow is reminiscent of a theater production with actors on the stage. Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum/Landesmuseum Zurich. Photography: Moritz Hillebrand. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 7. Concept 3—Dramatic display: Intensive bright–dark contrast exclusively via accent lighting. The dark wall color emphasizes the bright–dark effect between the picture and its background. Rendering: Axel Groß. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 8. Contour spotlights enable works of art to impressively illuminate from within. Hangaram Design Museum, the Seoul Arts Center, Seoul. Photography: Sebastian Mayer. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 9. Concept 4—Black box: Display of artworks with projection spotlights that only illuminate the picture surface via their crisp beam contours. The pictures seem to illuminate from within because both the picture frames and the room lie in darkness. Rendering: Axel Groß. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 10. The British artist Matthew Penn classifies his works as hyperrealistic, highlighting gradations in brightness using several contour spotlights for each work. Photography: Matthew Penn. © Matthew Penn.

Fig. 11. Concept 5—Hyperrealism: Display of pictures via very narrow accent lighting on parts of two pictures (painting on the left and painting at top left on the rear wall) as a supplement to accent lighting for the individual paintings. The spectra of the two outer accent spotlights differ from the others and intensify the warm colors of the painting to achieve a sense of hyperrealism. Rendering: Axel Groß. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 12. Varying the brightness and light color creates dynamic light with a pulsating atmosphere for celebrating the experience of culture. MAMUZ Living Museum for Prehistory, Schloss Asparn/Zaya, Asparn an der Zaya. Exhibition architecture: Atelier Christoph Cremer, Vienna. Photography: Gustavo Allidi Bernasconi. © ERCO GmbH.

Fig. 13. Concept 6—Dynamism: A combination of projection spotlights for the individual paintings with uniform blue wallwashing. The crisp-contoured accent lighting enables good color rendering of the paintings. Rendering: Axel Groß. © ERCO GmbH.

Table 2. Overview of the methods of display with regard to effect on the artwork, atmosphere of the room, and lighting design.

Exhibition concept	Art and space	Light
1. Objective reception of art	Realistic, unemotional art presentations Calm atmosphere where the art and the room appear equivalent	Light: uniform brightness distribution, hardly any modeling, no brilliance Daylight: diffuse incidence of light through windows or roof Lighting: wallwashing for uniform brightness distribution
2. Subtle emphasizing of artworks and motifs	Discreet highlighting of exhibits Calm atmosphere where art slightly dominates the room	Light: low brightness contrasts, slight modeling and brilliance Daylight: diffuse incidence of daylight supplemented by discreet accent lighting accent lighting Lighting: wallwashing and accent lighting. Subtle contrasts in brightness
3. Dramatically displaying exhibits	Artworks are placed in the foreground Emotional display of exhibits	Light: intensive brightness contrasts, strong modeling/brilliance Daylight: direct daylight via windows or roof Lighting: accent lighting matched to the size and shape of the images Sculptures: steep angle of incidence for striking shadows
4. Magically illuminating works of art	Only the surfaces of the image are seen The art is intensified; the room visually disappears	Light: uniform brightness only on the image surface with no light in the room Lighting: contour spotlights with crisp light beams
5. Interpreting artworks with hyperrealism	Artworks are placed in the foreground, details are emphasized Image characteristics are highlighted to intensify the reality	Light: Brightness and colors are intensified Lighting: dimmable contour spotlights for the differentiated illumination of picture sections and spotlights with multichannel color control for modifying the spectrum (metamerism)
6. Dynamically communicating exhibitions	Lively displays of art As well as purely observing the art, the entertainment factor is increased	Light: dynamism from brightness, color temperature, and spectrum Daylight: diffuse incidence of light through windows or ceiling Lighting: time-based light control, sensors, or apps

Fig. 14. Factors for selecting lighting concepts: Content within the artworks, formal aspects of the image medium, and spatial and temporal surroundings in which the work was created.