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ARTS & CULTURE

From darkness into light: rediscovering georges de la tour.

Long forgotten after his death in 1652, he is now embraced by the French as an icon; an exhibition touring this country shows why

Helen Dudar

It is one of the gnawing anomalies of art scholarship that Georges de La Tour was "lost" for nearly three centuries and yet with us all the time. His luminous paintings were on view in public and private spaces, wearing labels identifying them as the work of Murillo, or Velázquez or Caravaggio.

La Tour, who was born in 1593 and worked for most, if not all,of his life in Lorraine, was rediscovered at the beginning of this century. His paintings, of mendicant hurdy-gurdy players, rascally cardsharps and hypnotic holy figures, are now on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. "Georges de La Tour and His World," which includes 27 of the artist's 40 or so known works, will be in place until January 5, 1997; it will then travel to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, where it will run from February 2 to May 11. La Tour created more than one painting of several of his subjects, and these "autograph versions" can be seen side by side, inviting comparison and providing context.

In the 1630s La Tour turned his attention to nocturnes — pictures of figures magically caught in the light and shadow of a flickering candle flame. The keynote work in the show, The Newborn Child , offers a young mother gazing raptly at her swaddled infant, illuminated by a candle held by an older woman. Is it a nativity scene? Scholars disagree.

La Tour died in 1652, probably of the plague. His legacy was one of enduring beauty.

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Helen Dudar | READ MORE

Georges de La Tour

French Artist

Summary of Georges de La Tour

One of the greatest exponents of 17 th century Baroque painting, La Tour's mastery of chiaroscuro was such that he is often named as Caravaggio's natural successor. But La Tour's paintings, although relatively small in number, stand on their own terms for an economy of styling that charge his brooding candlelit scenes with a sense of enigmatic tranquility. La Tour's oeuvre shows a steady progression towards a uniquely minimalist style that would touch upon elements of symmetrical abstraction. Indeed, several historians have championed la Tour as the true progenitor of the Cubist movement. Although he was much admired in his own day, La Tour joins the exalted company of Piero della Francesca and Vermeer as canonical artists whose names and works had fallen into obscurity (and in La Tour's case, misattributed) before being rediscovered (and re-championed) by historians in the 20 th century.

Accomplishments

• La Tour's distinguished himself from others working in the Baroque style through a series of works that feature figures lit dramatically by the soft glow of a single light source. La Tour became increasingly drawn to candlelight scenes - often featuring a young boy or girl absorbed in an everyday task, whereby the flame spreads an atmosphere of otherworldly calm across the whole canvas. As his style evolved, La Tour's works would become increasingly sparse, with his masses reduced to simple, almost geometrical, dimensions. This technique imbues his works with a somewhat modern appearance that has provided a significant addition to the catalogue of 17th century French art.
• La Tour is sometimes referred to as a realist on the grounds that his works addressed the lives and experiences of the "common folk" of his hometown of Lorraine. But La Tour was not a naturalist. For his "real-life" works he achieved a sober, but meditative, quality. Indeed, rather than fixate the picturesque style that was prevalent in Northern Europe at the time, La Tour turned to the Caravaggesque realist approach since it provided the best means of representing "the soul of man".
• La Tour's sparsely populated pictures are rendered in "anonymous" locations with the absence of setting or scenery. His subjects never pose in front of architectural backgrounds or landscapes, with borders and boundaries delineated typically through partitioning devices such as walls. He omitted subsidiary figures with incidental accessories kept to the bare minimum (even his saints and angels were without haloes and wings). This technique, which brought a sense of silent calm, contributed to the enigmatic quality that has come to distinguish his work.
• La Tour's paintings, almost exclusively genre and religious works, can be divided between daytime and night-time scenes. Whereas the latter are defined by artificial light and a near elimination of color, the former, such as The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (c. 1635) and The Fortune-Teller (undated, c.1630-34), are distinguished by for their sharp, clear lighting, and a precision of brushwork. La Tour's works from this phase already indicate something of his individuality in their exquisite ornamentations and rendering of textures.

The Life of Georges de La Tour

According to author Christopher Wright, La Tour, "was seen as the great master of candlelight paintings, set apart from his contemporaries, by a near magical approach, both in subject matter and technique".

Important Art by Georges de La Tour

The Payment of Taxes

An important early work by La Tour, it shows an elderly man paying a tax (or debt) to group of men. The scene carries an element of threat in that the taxpayer seems as if he is being intimidated by the group. Author Philip Conisbee says of the work, "It has been convincingly suggested that its source lies in the tradition of tax-paying scenes, a well-established theme in Netherlandish art since the sixteenth century". Yet the painting carries a certain ambiguity in that, what might be on surface level a generic peasant scene of the powerful subjugating the meek, could be a modern reinterpretation of the biblical story of the "Calling of Matthew" (the tax collector who became a disciple) if, as some historians believe, it was painted during the earliest period of his career when he was chiefly engaged in painting the saints. In either case, this work offers confirmation of La Tour's skill at creating complex group compositions. According to Conisbee, here "La Tour employs a crowded space, somewhat awkward, eccentric poses, and a self-conscious use of artificial light to create the atmosphere of a silent and unsettling drama. Every feature of the painting - gestures, expressions, enigmatic poses, the play of light and shade - works to produce a tense, concentrated mood. Even the elevated viewpoint adds to the tension we experience from this encounter. [Even though early in his career, it] is already characteristic of La Tour's approach to painting: he rarely chooses an innovative subject, but he meditates on it deeply and presents it in a highly focused or concentrated way. There is no visual distraction, no ornament for ornament's sake. Forms are reduced to essentials, as are the gestures and expressions of his actors, establishing in this case a threatening mood".

Oil on canvas - Museum of Fine Arts, Lviv, Ukraine

Old Peasant Couple Eating

This painting is one of La Tour's key early works. It amply demonstrates his flair for capturing the mood of his subjects. As author Vittorio Maria de Bonis notes, the couple "ignore each other and instead sink their melancholy gaze into the eyes of the viewer as they angrily and greedily eat spoonfuls of the bright peas inside chipped, rough terracotta bowls". The mature figures are desperately hungry and they might easily symbolize the population of Lorraine (in Northeastern France) who had grown exhausted through war and famine. The bleak mood is reinforced through the dramatic Baroque style that sets the figures, whose faces and figures are cast in shadows, against a dour, featureless, background. De Bonis calls the painting, "one of the most eloquently desolate images of hunger and poverty ever painted". This work is also interesting because, unlike the artist's later pieces, it is not obvious to the viewer what message La Tour was trying to communicate. According to author Philip Conisbee, the work, "presents something of a dilemma for the modern viewer, for there are no clues about how the artist and his public understood such a picture: should we pity their plight, look down on them, or just savor their picturesqueness?". Conisbee suggests that La Tour invests his subjects "with a certain dignity, which perhaps means we should admire them as 'salt of the earth'". It is this fascinating element of ambiguity that contributed to the painters soaring reputation amongst 20 th century historians.

Oil on canvas - Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany

The Fortune-Teller

Art historian Deanna MacDonald writes, "This painting is full of enigmas relating to its painter, subject and provenance. Signed in Latin in its top right corner 'G. de La Tour Fecit Luneuilla Lothar' (made by G. de La Tour, Lunéville Lorraine), this is one of the few daylight paintings by an artist who specialised in nocturnal scenes". In this narrative work, a well-to-do young man looks questioningly at the toothless old woman on the far right of the canvas as she holds out a coin. While focused on whatever tale she is spinning, he fails to realize that the other women standing around him, in cahoots with the older woman who has distracted him, are in the act of picking his pockets. MacDonald observes, "There is no indication of setting, though all wear colourful costumes. Are they in a brothel? Are the robbers gypsies? As it has a theatrical air, could it be a scene from a play, such as the parable of the prodigal son? But la Tour does not play the scene for comedy or eroticism. Sideways glances, expressive hand gestures and a mix of shadow and crisp daylight create an atmosphere ripe with tension: what will happen next? Details are meticulously rendered; from the patterns on the colourful fabrics to the words AMOR (love) and FIDES (faith) written minutely on the young man's watch chain. Despite the moralising theme, the artist seems to imbue each character with humanity: the foppish youth seems more naïve than dissolute and there is a sense of sadness and peril about the thieves (punishments for stealing in the 17th century included cutting off an ear, branding or death). The picture seems to warn of the dangers for all in a world of deceit and greed". MacDonald also introduces an interesting historical caveat into readings of the painting. In 1984 the art historian Christopher Wright published a book in which he claimed that all of La Tour's daylight pictures were in fact forgeries. MacDonald observes, "Wright, who as a young scholar had been involved in La Tour authentications, said that he had been pressured to pronounce the work genuine by powerful figures such as Sir Anthony Blunt, the famed art expert/spy. Wright even suggested that a French restorer (who died in 1954) named Delobre who worked for Wildenstein in the USA had painted them. Many have dismissed Wright's claims, including the Met [Museum of Art] but an aura of mystery remains".

Oil on canvas - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Penitent Magdalen

The Penitent Magdalen is rich in the type of religious symbolism that would have been easily understood by audiences of La Tour's day. As the Metropolitan Museum of Art explains, "the quiet atmosphere of this painting perfectly fits the subject, Mary Magdalen, who renounced the pleasures of the flesh for a life of penance and contemplation. She is shown with a mirror, symbol of vanity; a skull, emblem of mortality; and a candle that probably references her spiritual enlightenment". Here, as in his others works in this style, La Tour uses heightened chiaroscuro - or tenebrism - to underscore the mood and/or motivation of his subject. Conisbee writes, "At its most basic level the darkened interior enabled the artist to play on the theme of light and reflected light in contrast with the surrounding obscurity. It could set a mood conducive to contemplation and meditation, both for the actors in his pictures and for the participating spectator. Light and darkness had symbolic values on several levels: most obviously in the contrast between the spiritual darkness of our mortal world, illuminated by the light of the divine". Indeed, Mary Magdalene is a fitting subject for La Tour's Baroque treatment. The candle, which was widely interpreted as a symbol of Christ's presence, features here to connote an act of meditation and Magdalen's new faith (in Jesus) that will lead her away from a life of sin. But perhaps the most striking stylistic feature of this work is the reflection of the candle in the mirror. As Conisbee explains, "The two flames really dominate the picture, not only because they are the source of light, illuminating the figure of the Magdalene, but also because the repeated image of the flame and its reflection are so compelling; we can see both sides of the candle, and the far side best because it is illuminated by the reflected light. Only the skull on Magdalene's lap suggests that she may be pondering the earthly reality of our mortality and the eternal truth of the spiritual life, while deciding to abandon the blandishments of the material world".

Saint Joseph in the Carpenter's Shop

A rarely depicted subject, La Tour has shown Jesus as a young boy in the workshop of his carpenter father. Joseph dominates the scene and is bent down over a piece of wood, which he is working with a tool. Jesus holds a candle to help his father to see, effectively bathing his whole face in light. Joseph's eyes seem to be turned upward towards his son, suggesting they are in conversation. In fact this could be read as a humble familial scene were it not for the painting's title. La Tour's nocturne painting shows how he used lighting effects to elevate drama over naturalism. As authors Claudio Falcucci and Simona Rinaldi write, "one example of the extent to which what is portrayed in his paintings can be divorced from reality is visible in the Child's hand hiding the candle [...]. It is commonly known that light transmitted across a hand with its fingers closed produces a bright red colour, which is at its brightest where the fingers touch one another, and darker where the hand is thicker. In no case do we ever observe a white contour around the fingers, especially when they slightly overlap as they do in the representation. [...] Indeed, a constant element in La Tour's canvases seems to be his moving beyond the mere description of the physical phenomenon of the light released by the candle in the name of a more highly symbolic value".

Oil on canvas - Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Choirboy

This work is characteristic of La Tour's penetrating application of the Baroque style. To enhance the drama of his scenes, and demonstrating his sophisticated handling of chiaroscuro that expresses itself in sharp tenebrism, he allowed his figures, in this case a solitary choirboy wearing a plumb colored alb with a delicately embroidered collar, to be illuminated by the light of a single candle. What is perhaps most interesting about this work from a compositional point of view is that the candle is not visible; rather it is hidden behind the hymn book that the boy holds. Only the tip of the flame and the base of the candle in the boy's hand is peeking out from behind the book. La Tour's clever composition reinforces the dedication of the boy to the task at hand while perhaps allowing the viewer to contemplate their own faith and devotion. Art critic Laura Cumming offers this reading of the painting: "La Tour must have seen a Caravaggio somewhere, if only as a print - but nobody has ever put such emphasis on the behaviour of candlelight. The way it strokes surfaces, sends out showers of highlights, gives warmth as well as light while casting everything beyond its ambit into blackness. His figures appear spellbound by the magical flame, seized with its mystery; only the candlelight shifts. He often achieves this by hiding the light source itself. [Here a] choirboy holds a candle up to his hymns but we only see the tip of the flame above a book that's as black as night. All that is visible, in fact, in this cave of seething darkness are the fingers, the face and this mesmerising flicker, giving the queer sense of a soul in trance. And what a serene mask the boy has, radically simplified and slightly oriental like many of de La Tour's characters. His candlelight seems to sheer away irregularities like a laser, polishing skin and making diamonds of eyes".

Oil on canvas - Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, England

The Adoration of the Shepherds

In La Tour's nativity painting, the Christ child, swaddled in white cloth, is featured bathed in light in the center of the composition. Mary sits on the left, hands clasped in prayer while Joseph, sitting directly across from her, has his hands raised in praise. Two shepherds and a peasant girl occupy the background and look down on the baby adoringly. While the nativity has been a popular theme for artists throughout history, La Tour's approach distinguishes itself from other works in this theme. According to Conisbee, "the story lent itself to a nighttime scene, and there are countless prototypes in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. La Tour has gathered a group of five sympathetically observed worshippers around the Christ Child, who seems to radiate more light than he can possibly simply reflect from the candle held by Joseph. This last detail is significant. [...] La Tour brings a sense of intimacy and tenderness to the scene, and we can admire his powers of observation in the swaddled child. [...] There is no sense of theatricality in La Tour's interpretation: no dramatic gestures or exaggerated expressions". In this example we can see a style of rendering figures that helped distinguish La Tour from the approach of Caravaggio (to whom he was/is routinely compared). As Falcucci and Rinaldi explain, "while Caravaggio tended to emphasize the sculptural qualities of his subjects by painting them before he painted the background, which he then darkened depending on what was needed, always being sure not to let the background and the subject come into pictorial contact with each other, La Tour made very distinct borders between the background colours, which he then painted independently so that the figures were transformed into shapes applied to the background, with no dialectical rapport between the two".

Biography of Georges de La Tour

Childhood and education.

There is little information about the early life of Georges de La Tour, and without a surviving self-portrait (assuming he had painted one), we do not even have an image of the artist. All that is known (rumors that he was arrogant and unpopular with his neighbors notwithstanding) is that he was the second of seven children, born in Vic-sur-Seille (Vic), a large market town in the independent duchy of Lorraine (now part of north-eastern France). His father, Jean de La Tour, was a baker, his mother, also from a family of bakers, was named Sybille de Crospaux. His baptismal certificate was registered in Vic on 14 March 1593.

Early Training

That La Tour must have had an early interest in art can be assumed given that in the seventeenth century one would not have been accepted into a workshop to study unless he or she had already demonstrated a nascent talent. Art historian Gail Feigenbaum suggests that "His apprenticeship likely began around 1605, perhaps in Vic with Alphonse de Rambervilliers, a writer and amateur engraver close to the bishop of Metz, and he very likely worked in Nancy with the painter, etcher, and draftsman Jacques Bellange". Authors Claudio Falcucci and Simona Rinaldi have also conjectured that La Tour "received his artistic education in the workshop of the Swiss painter Claude Dogoz, who was working in the lively Lorraine area at the time". And while little is known about his religious upbringing, Feigenbaum observes that his devotional paintings, such as The Repentant Magdalen (c. 1640), "demonstrate powerful introspection and intense spirituality [that] may reflect the strong Catholic sentiments of Lorraine, which bordered northern Protestant states".

The influence of the Italian Baroque style , especially in the dark and dramatic backgrounds of Caravaggio (La Tour was still a teenager when the archetypal artistic rebel died, or was killed), begs the question: where would the artist have seen and studied such paintings? As Feigenbaum writes, "there has been much unresolved discussion about a possible trip to Rome". La Tour had begun painting with Dogoz and it is thought that he could have travelled to Italy with Dogoz between 1614-16, where he discovered the paintings of Caravaggio. Feigenbaum acknowledges that "La Tour's low-life subjects and his bold tenebrist manner of painting seem to be heavily indebted to the work of Caravaggio [...] and his followers in Rome [such as Bartolomeo Manfredi]. But Caravaggio's influence was spreading throughout Europe in the second decade of the century so it was by no means necessary for La Tour to have made an Italian trip". Indeed, Gerrit van Honthorst and Dirck van Baburen were working in the Baroque style in Utrecht, while in Lorraine, Jacques Bellange and Jean Leclerc were both exploring the dramatic potential for tenebrist lighting effects.

Mature Period

La Tour was married to Diane Le Nerf, a woman of status and wealth, in 1617 (La Tour gave his profession as painter on the marriage certificate). Her family were silversmiths and her father served as the minister of finance to the Duke of Lorraine. Having lived at the Le Nerf's family residence in Vic, they settled in the city of Lunéville (15 miles south of Vic) following the birth of their first child (Philipp) in 1620. (The couple were parents to a total of nine or ten children, although only three would reach adulthood, including their son, Etienne, who was officially ennobled as a painter in 1670.) In Lunéville, La Tour joined the studio of Claude Baccarat and between 1621-24 the Duke bought two of La Tour's paintings. With his reputation secured, La Tour established his own workshop in Lunéville where he employed apprentices.

The La Tours lived through a time of great uncertainty. It was the period of the Thirty Year War (1618-48) and by the 1630s Lunéville was becoming increasingly unsafe. As historian Gabriel Diss states, "La Tour needed great determination and unflinching energy not to be crushed by the incursions of armed rabble, the hordes of poverty-stricken refugees, the state of famine and the plague that struck Lorraine three times, in 1631, 1633, and 1636. He shouldered the great responsibility of supplying the needs of a workshop and a family of nine children, a burden made still greater in 1631 when he was appointed guardian of his nephews Antoine and François Nardoyen. The records show that he performed his duties with fairness and clear-sightedness".

The independent duchy of Lorraine (now northeastern France) sat between France and the Germany of the Holy Roman Empire. The citizens of Lunéville (located within the duchy of Lorraine) were trapped in the war between these two mighty colonial powers and La Tour and his family lived with a constant fear for their safety. After his home was ransacked, and his workshop razed, during a sack of Lunéville by the French in 1638, La Tour moved his family 30km to Nancy. Despite his close friendship with the Duke of Lorraine, La Tour now pledged his loyalty to the French. With his family safely settled in Nancy, La Tour left for Paris in 1639 where he took up his most prestigious position as peintre du roi ("Painter in Ordinary to King Louis XIII of France"). He made such an impression in this role that he was granted permission to set up a living space in the Louvre a year later.

Later Period

Once Lorraine became secure again (now under control of the French) La Tour was able to return home with his family. According to records dated 1643 he established a successful new studio in Lunéville. He produced religious and domestic scenes, both genres of which were popular throughout Europe. According to author Philip Conisbee, "La Tour conducted his artistic affairs in a solidly professional way: there were contracts, agreements, and schedules of payment. We know that he ran a small studio [and engaged apprentices] who helped out in the day-to-day running of his business and learned at least the rudiments of art from him. He [also] presumably trained his son Etienne".

Feigenbaum writes that, "between 1644 and 1651, the marquis de La Ferté-Sénecterre [...] the French governor of Lorraine, received six of La Tour's paintings as tribute from the cities of the region". It was also during this period that his nocturne paintings became popular. Anchored in the Baroque style, it was through his nocturnes that La Tour distinguished himself among his peers in the subtle way he used light to dramatize the actions of his subjects. Historian Pat Bauer writes, "The paintings of La Tour's maturity [...] are marked by a startling geometric simplification of the human form and by the depiction of interior scenes lit only by the glare of candles or torches. His religious paintings done in this manner have a monumental simplicity and a stillness that expresses both contemplative quiet and wonder".

Tragically, the plague that swept through Europe in the 1650s ravaged Lorraine and it is believed to have been the cause of La Tour's wife's death in 1652. What wider success La Tour might have achieved will remain unknown as this epidemic, a possibly a deep sense of grief, most likely claimed the artist's life only two weeks after his wife's passing. La Tour was fifty-eight years old.

The Legacy of Georges de La Tour

According to the author Dimitri Salmon, "La Tour's works were seldom copied in engravings and hence little known, nor did he have a biographer to record his life for posterity. Finally, Lorraine was constantly devasted by war for three centuries, and with it not only the painter's workshop but also the churches, monasteries, castles and mansions where his paintings hung". It wasn't until the early twentieth century that art historians began to examine La Tour's work through a contemporary lens, beginning in 1915 through the writings of art historian Hermann Voss. Calling his art "one of the great rediscoveries of the 20 th century", the historian Susan Moore states, "Today it seems inconceivable that this most compelling and singular of artists, highly successful in his day, should have been almost entirely forgotten for three centuries. [...] The reconstruction and rehabilitation of his artistic career have been described as 'the triumph of art history, and its justification'".

La Tour's work has had a profound influence on subsequent generations of artists. As Salmon states, "it is the fame of these works which is taken to task by the artists of the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century as much as their beauty and the interest they arouse. Whatever their age, their career path or their nationality, whatever their aim or their technique, in their own way, today's artists - from the Chinese artist Yin Xin to the Mexican Alejandra Figueroa, the French artists Jérome Mesnager, Gérard Collin-Thiébaut and Frédéric Coché and the Italian Gerardo Dicrola - amply illustrate the tremendous infatuation with Georges de La Tour and the fascination that his Christ with Saint Joseph in the Carpenter's Shop and Adoration of the Shepherds exert more powerfully than ever before".

Influences and Connections

Useful Resources on Georges de La Tour

• Georges de La Tour and his World Our Pick By Philip Conisbee
• Georges de La Tour By Jacques Thuillier
• Georges de La Tour and the Enigma of the Visible By Dalia Judovitz
• Georges de La Tour: The Adoration of the Shepherds Christ with Saint Joseph in the Carpenter's Shop Our Pick Edited by Valeria Merlini, Dimitri Salmon, and Daniela Storti
• Flickers of genius By Laura Cumming / The Observer / July 15, 2007
• Georges de la Tour: The Fortune Teller - c1630s By Deanna MacDonald / Great Works of Western Art
• The Fortune-Teller Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• A sale in Cologne turns the spotlight on Georges de La Tour By Susan Moore / Apollo Magazine / November 25, 2020
• French Paintings of the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Century By Gail Feigenbaum / The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue, Washington, D.C. / 2009
• Georges de La Tour By Pat Bauer / Britannica.com
• Georges de La Tour's paintings in the UK: French Caravaggism in Leicester, Wiltshire and Teesside Our Pick By Christopher Wright / Art UK / January 19, 2012
• A Sale in Cologne Turns the Spotlight on Georges de La Tour By Susan Moore / Apollo Magazine / November 25, 2020
• Georges de La Tour's Penitent Magdalen | Painting of the Week Podcast | S3 EP17 This podcast provides an indepth look at Georges de La Tour's painting the Penitent Magdalen
• Lecture: Dr. Lynn Orr, Ph. D - September 28, 2019 This lecture presented at the Portland Museum of Art features Dr. Lynn Orr discussing Georges de La Tour's nocturne painting The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame
• George de La Tour National Gallery of Art

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Content compiled and written by Jessica DiPalma

Edited and revised, with Summary and Accomplishments added by Antony Todd

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Illuminating the Masterpiece: Georges de La Tour’s ‘The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs’

This article delves into the intriguing world of Georges de La Tour, focusing on his masterpiece “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs.” We will explore the life and style of La Tour, along with the themes depicted in this iconic painting. Each section will provide a comprehensive view, from the artist’s biography to the intricate details of “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs,” highlighting its contrast with the fair play emphasized in modern Michigan online casinos. 

Georges de La Tour: A Biographical Sketch: Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Georges de La Tour, born in 1593 in Vic-sur-Seille, France, embarked on his artistic journey in an era dominated by the Baroque style. His early life, shrouded in mystery, offers little in terms of documentation, but it’s believed that his initial training was rooted in the local artistic traditions of Lorraine.

La Tour’s beginnings were modest, yet his innate talent for capturing the subtleties of human emotion and the interplay of light and shadow soon became evident.

Career Development and Major Influences

As La Tour’s career progressed, he gained recognition for his unique approach to painting. Influenced by the likes of Caravaggio , he developed a mastery of chiaroscuro, a technique involving the dramatic use of light and dark. This period marked a significant evolution in his style, characterized by a focus on everyday scenes and an exploration of human psychology.

The Artistic Style of Georges de La Tour: Mastery of Chiaroscuro

Georges de La Tour’s signature style is most notably defined by his use of chiaroscuro. This technique, which he honed throughout his career, allowed him to create striking contrasts between light and dark, adding a dramatic and almost theatrical quality to his works.

This manipulation of light not only enhanced the visual impact of his paintings but also helped convey deeper emotional undertones.

Realism and Representation of the Human Condition

Apart from chiaroscuro, La Tour’s paintings are distinguished by their realistic portrayal of the human condition. His subjects, often ordinary people, are depicted with a raw and honest perspective. This approach to realism extends beyond physical appearances to capture the essence of human emotions, making his work resonate with viewers across generations.

‘The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs:’ An Overview: Historical Context and Creation

“The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs,” created in the 1630s, stands as a testament to La Tour’s artistic maturity. It reflects the social and cultural milieu of 17th-century France, a period rife with political and religious turmoil.

This painting, showcasing a scene of deception and trickery, was La Tour’s commentary on the moral and ethical landscape of his time.

Description and Analysis of the Artwork

“The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs” is a captivating composition featuring a card game where deception is the central theme. The painting’s characters – a duplicitous cardsharp, unsuspecting victims, and an accomplice – are depicted in a moment of tense drama.

La Tour’s use of light accentuates the deceitful action, drawing the viewer’s eye to the pivotal moment of “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs.”

Symbolism and Themes in ‘The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs:’ Exploration of Deception and Morality

“The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs” is a profound exploration of deception, morality, and human vice. La Tour skillfully uses visual elements to symbolize the duplicitous nature of society.

The interplay of shadows and light not only creates a dramatic effect but also metaphorically represents the blurred lines between right and wrong.

Reflection of Societal Norms and Behaviors

In this painting, La Tour reflects the societal norms and behaviors of his time. The scene of gambling and cheating serves as a microcosm of the larger societal issues, highlighting the prevalence of deceit and the moral ambiguities of the 17th century.

The Legacy of Georges de La Tour: Influence on Future Generations

Georges de La Tour’s impact on the art world extends far beyond his lifetime. His unique approach to painting, especially his use of light, has influenced generations of artists. His ability to depict the human condition in such a relatable manner has made his work timeless, continuing to inspire and captivate audiences today.

Preservation and Recognition of His Work

Despite being relatively unknown during his lifetime, La Tour’s work gained significant recognition posthumously. Efforts to preserve and exhibit his paintings have allowed a wider audience to appreciate his artistic genius. Today, his works are celebrated in major museums around the world, serving as a testament to his enduring legacy.

‘The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs’ in Modern Context

As we peer into Georges de La Tour’s compelling piece “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs,” the tension and cunning deception portrayed within the frame are palpable. This snapshot of trickery and manipulation is a testament to the artist’s ability to capture the complexities of human behavior. However, within the realm of this deceitful scene lies a sharp distinction. 

Unlike the deceptive maneuvers in this artful creation, Michigan online casinos provide a stark contrast, emphasizing fair play and integrity . Unlike the morally ambiguous actions depicted, these digital gaming platforms prioritize transparency and honesty, ensuring a trustworthy gaming environment for all enthusiasts.

Relevance of ‘The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs’ in Contemporary Art Discussions

“The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs” remains a significant piece for contemporary art discussions, not only for its artistic merit but also for its thematic relevance. It serves as a bridge connecting past and present, reminding us of the timeless nature of certain human behaviors and the evolving perception of morality and ethics in society.

The Influence of ‘The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs’ on Art and Culture: Impact on Artistic Narratives and Techniques

“The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs” has had a profound impact on the narratives and techniques used in art. La Tour’s approach to storytelling through visual elements has inspired artists to explore similar themes of deceit and morality.

His technique of using light to enhance storytelling has become a fundamental aspect of artistic expression.

Cultural Significance and Interpretations

The cultural significance of “ The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs with the Ace of Clubs ” lies in its ability to transcend time and place. It has become a symbol of the universal themes of deception and morality, allowing for diverse interpretations and discussions across different cultural contexts. This painting continues to be a reference point in understanding the evolution of societal values and artistic expression.

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Georges de La Tour: Master of Candlelight, Mystery, and Spiritual Realism in Baroque Art

Master of Candlelight and Drama

The Artistry of Georges de La Tour

Illuminating the Darkness

Georges de La Tour (1593–1652), a French Baroque painter, is primarily celebrated for his religious and genre paintings, renowned for their exquisite candlelight effects and dramatically evocative scenes. Though he remained relatively obscure during his lifetime, his works garnered significant attention and appreciation after being rediscovered in the late 19th century.

La Tour was born in the Lorraine region and received his early artistic training locally before later journeying to Rome for further study. During his time in Rome, he was deeply influenced by the intense colors and deep-shadowed style of Caravaggio and other Italian painters, which had a profound impact on his subsequent works.

La Tour’s subjects, often mundane, depict angels as ordinary people and saints devoid of halos. His unique painting style typically lacks background scenery, focusing instead on creating tranquil atmospheres with warm tones. He skillfully renders realistic facial features, particularly in warm brown and reddish-brown hues. Frequently utilizing dark backgrounds illuminated by candlelight, he accentuates the interplay of light and shadow, thus highlighting the figures against the darkness and imparting a distinctively dramatic and mysterious effect to his compositions. Among his notable works are “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs,” “The Fortune Teller,” and series portraying elderly musicians and Mary Magdalene.

The Divine Glow:

Exploring Georges de La Tour’s Candlelit Canvas

La Tour’s paintings, centered on ordinary household objects, unveil profound meanings through masterful manipulation of light. Among his oeuvre, those depicting Mary Magdalene epitomize La Tour’s spiritual prowess. These pieces demonstrate his adept control of light and nuanced portrayal of emotions. Rooted in 17th-century Catholic doctrine, Mary Magdalene embodies repentance and penance. After a life of sin, her forgiveness comes only through devout devotion to Jesus Christ. In La Tour’s “Repentant Magdalen,” Mary sits bathed in candlelight, casting evocative shadows on her visage and surrounding items. The candle, sole luminary of the scene, not only brightens the tableau but also carries spiritual significance. Its golden radiance reflects on Mary’s face and the objects, while highlighting the contours of her left hand resting gently on a skull atop a book. The skull’s reflection in the mirror underscores life’s fleeting nature. La Tour’s simplified forms and muted palettes, coupled with meticulous detailing, evoke a tranquil ambiance and convey religious allegories with naturalistic flair. A virtuoso of candlelight, he unveils the essence of humanity, where captivating darkness embodies simplicity, serenity, and eternity. Other works featuring Mary Magdalene include “Magdalen with the Smoking Flame” and “The Penitent Magdalen.”

La Tour’s religious paintings are profoundly shaped by medieval mysticism, underscoring the belief in an inherent truth and divine light within every individual. This essence permeates his works, where his treatment of light markedly diverges from Caravaggio’s. La Tour’s delicate and warm manipulation of light and shadow in his paintings creates a unique ambiance of simplicity and serenity. It evokes a profound sense of inner divine power within the viewer, reflecting the artist’s spiritual sensibilities.

La Tour’s Genre Paintings:

Deciphering Vivid Dramatic Composition

“The Fortune Teller” stands as one of La Tour’s celebrated genre paintings, portraying a young affluent man adorned in lavish attire, eagerly engrossed in the divination interpretation of a gypsy fortune-teller. Receiving a coin from his hand, the fortune-teller incorporates it not only as payment but also as an integral part of the ritual. Despite his aloof expression, the young man’s curiosity drives him to listen intently to the fortune-teller’s words, oblivious to the clandestine scheming of three nearby women intent on stealing his possessions. With the coin in hand, the female fortune-teller seeks to captivate the young man’s attention while ensuring his silence to facilitate her accomplices’ theft. Meanwhile, the strategically positioned women demonstrate the characteristic vigilance of skilled thieves, their focus locked on the young man’s eyes as they endeavor to sever his gold chain. An illuminated area on the left side of the painting highlights the collaboration between the fortune-teller and the thief, seizing the opportune moment to pilfer additional valuables from the young man. Through meticulous brushwork and astute observation, the painting skillfully reveals the intricate inner worlds of its characters.

In La Tour’s genre paintings, figures are ingeniously situated within shallow spaces, creating a sense of immediacy for the viewer. Through meticulous attention to detail, each character emanates a lifelike aura. In masterpieces like “The Fortune Teller,” every aspect from the disdainful expressions, intricate skin textures, and nuanced gazes revealing inner thoughts to the dramatic gestures and elaborate clothing is depicted with remarkable precision and realism. Likewise, in other works such as “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs” and “The Musicians’ Brawl,” one can discern La Tour’s distinctive and gripping dramatic rendition.

Daylight and Darkness in Art

La Tour’s Luminescent Duality

La Tour’s artistic versatility extended beyond mere technical proficiency. He exhibited a remarkable skill in depicting realistic scenes in both daylight and the somber quietude of nocturnal settings. While undoubtedly influenced by Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro technique, La Tour managed to infuse his works with a personal touch that set him apart. His unique blend of spirituality and realism was evident in his meticulous handling of light and shadow, creating a harmonious equilibrium that evoked a sense of mystery and transcendence in his paintings. This delicate balance between the earthly and the divine allowed La Tour to convey profound emotional depth, inviting viewers into a realm where the mundane and the sublime coexist in perfect harmony.

RELATED READING

The Spell of Contrast: Chiaroscuro’s Captivating Artistic Aura. Read Renaissance Sfumato: Unveiling Artistry Through Blurred Realms. Read Rembrandt’s Self-Portraits in Print. Read

• de La Tour, G. (2024, March 3). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_de_La_Tour
• de La Tour, G. (c. 1635-1637). The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. https://col lections.lacma.org/node/238963
• de La Tour, G. (1630). The Fortune-Teller. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436838
• de La Tour, G. (1630/1640). The Repentant Magdalen. National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.54386.html
• de La Tour, G. (1640). The Penitent Magdalen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436839

Hsu, W. T. (2024, March 13). Georges de La Tour: Master of Candlelight, Mystery, and Spiritual Realism in Baroque Art. Art Learnings. https:/ /artlearnings.com/georges-de-la-tour-candlelight-baroque-art/?frame-nonce=5d5a844398

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The Penitent Magdalen

Georges de La Tour French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 622

With its extreme contrasts of candlelight and shadow, pared-down geometry, and meditative mood, this painting exemplifies La Tour’s painting at its most accomplished and characteristic. These visual qualities were a powerful countertrend to Baroque painting’s typical pomp and showiness. A native of the duchy of Lorraine in eastern present-day France, La Tour was indebted to Caravaggesque painting, but tended toward even more simplified forms. The quiet atmosphere of this painting perfectly fits the subject, Mary Magdalen, who renounced the pleasures of the flesh for a life of penance and contemplation. She is shown with a mirror, symbol of vanity; a skull, emblem of mortality; and a candle that probably references her spiritual enlightenment.

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Title: The Penitent Magdalen

Artist: Georges de La Tour (French, Vic-sur-Seille 1593–1652 Lunéville)

Date: ca. 1640

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 52 1/2 x 40 1/4 in. (133.4 x 102.2 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1978

Accession Number: 1978.517

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Georges de La Tour

The Dice Players c.1650

Georges de La Tour (1593–1652)

Preston Park Museum & Grounds

(bapt. Vic-sur-Seille, Lorraine [now Moselle], 14 Mar. 1593; d Lunéville, Lorraine [now Meurthe-et-Moselle], 30 Jan. 1652). French painter, active at Lunéville in the Duchy of Lorraine; it was his wife's home town and he settled there in 1620, three years after his marriage. He had a fairly successful career (his paintings were owned by Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, and the Duke of Lorraine), but his name sank into oblivion after his death and it was not until the 20th century that he was rediscovered and hailed as the most inspired of Caravaggesque painters. Little is recorded of his life (although he is known to have been arrogant and unpopular with his neighbours) and it is uncertain how he gained his knowledge of Caravaggio's style. Possibly he visited Italy early in his career, but he could also have learned at second hand through a local intermediary such as Jean Le Clerc, who had worked with Saraceni in Rome and returned to Lorraine in 1622, or via painters of the Utrecht School such as Honthorst.

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)

Artworks by Georges de La Tour

Christopher Wright

Francesca Whitlum-Cooper

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World culture and art

Georges de La Tour: painter of light

“newborn”, 1640, “mary magdalene”, 1638-1643.

Georges de La Tour (March 14, 1593 – January 30, 1652) – Lorraine and French painter, caravaggist and master of chiaroscuro. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, his name was forgotten. Latour is an enigmatic artist. He left behind many unfinished paintings and no documents. Therefore, art critics continue to argue which works really belong to his brush.

Creativity Latour falls on the first half of the XVII century: he worked during the reign of Louis XIII. The artist was of interest to the imperial court, and some of his works were purchased. But until the end of his life, Latour remained a provincial and worked in the small town of Luneville. By the end of the 17th century, his name was forgotten, and it was discovered already at the beginning of the 20th century.

The circumstances of Latour’s life are unclear, the origins of creativity are incomprehensible. The peculiarity of the artist’s style is the light inside the picture, to which he attaches tremendous importance, and which is a through theme in his works. His paintings are imbued with the spirit of Caravaggio, but the artist was not associated with Italy.

Biblical events Latour comprehends as genre scenes, but an elementary and unpretentious event is filled with new meaning.

Two women are depicted – an elderly and a young one. A young woman holds the swaddled body of a newly born baby. There is no indication here that Latour is depicting Christmas. Perhaps this is just a genre scene depicting care, attention to a new life.

But the two heroines are deeply focused, and especially the young mother. The artist works with lighting: Anna holds a candle in her left hand, blocking the light from us with her right. As a result, the entire stream of a weak light source falls on the baby’s head. And although there is nothing here that would hint at the holiness of the event, we understand its significance.

The flow of light is so strong that it evokes the feeling of a significant scene, a sacrament.

The solution to the composition “Mary Magdalene” is similar. No alternatives are given here. We understand that before us is not an ordinary girl in front of the flame of an oil lamp, but a biblical heroine in a certain state of mind. She has books on the table, a cross, a whip, which involves the torture of the flesh.

The girl is almost turned away from the viewer. The light source stands inside space, in the middle spatial zone. Her figure is pushed a little closer to the picture plane. And we, just like the heroine of the picture, find ourselves in the field of attraction of the flame of an oil lamp.

It is impossible to take your eyes off the intense vertical flame: we are following the heroine, fascinated looking at this flame. And we understand that the woman sitting here does not just contemplate this fire, she, through this fire, plunges into the world of important experiences, the result of which is spiritual development.

Caravaggio uses a similar artistic technique when he paints Mary Magdalene asleep in an empty room. Sleep turns into a state of catharsis, which shows the course of internal mental changes.

Latour finds a new formula for the same process. Mary Magdalene does not abandon her life path, she moves on. Inside the chamber, dimly lit space, the center of the composition of which is light, there is concentration and that inner spiritual work that will lead to changes inside, and not outside.

“Playing cards”, 1635

A work that allows you to get a little closer to the possible origins of the artist’s style. On the one hand, this property is to generalize, it is a closed form, abstracted from specific real portrait features, which the artist uses. Although we understand that each of the characters here is characteristic.

Latour details the image: costume decoration, glass vessel, coins and fabrics are lovingly painted. And in the transfer of these details, we see the art school not of the 17th, but of the 15th century, the early naturalism of the Dutch persuasion. The artist is simply immersed in the materialism of the surrounding world, which closes on every form – a pearl, a precious stone, an embroidery pattern, laces, feathers. All this is woven into a fantastic picturesque ensemble.

This is an attention to detail and their convincing depiction, somewhat outdated for the 17th century. By the 17th century, painting goes further and already passes through this stage. But before us is a unique, still not fully known provincial artist. The origins of his work go back to the Renaissance past. It manifests itself in the combination of new themes, principles of constructing genre scenes with intrigue, while maintaining interest in detail, the accuracy of conveying the objective characteristics of the objective world.

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Georges de La Tour and the Enigma of the Visible

• Dalia Judovitz
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Fordham University Press
• Copyright year: 2018
• Main content: 192
• Other: 29 Black & White and Color Illustrations
• Keywords: Baroque Aesthetics ; Catholic Reform ; Catholic Spirituality ; Georges de La Tour ; Light and Vision ; Meta-Painting ; Phenomenology of Vision ; Protestant Iconoclasm ; Religion and Visual Arts ; Sight and Insight ; Word and Image Interplay
• Published: November 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9780823277469

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Lighthinking

Georges de La Tour: the contrast between day and night

The Milan exhibition touches the artistic work of the great French painter

The Musicians’ Brawl

The Penitent Magdalene

Georges de La Tour’s experiments with light are central to his art.

The trailer of the film

Light in the art and science of still life

“....the Illuminating Gas”

Georges de La Tour A Caravaggisti embraces silence

The inescapable influence of Caravaggio

When the whirlwind of violence, profanity and big art that was Caravaggio spun through Italy, he left a trail of newly-minted Baroque painters in his wake. Everyone wanted to be Caravaggio, and it was nearly impossible not to be influenced by the vehemence of his bold new style. Strong color, deep shadows, and the exquisitely rendered human form. So many imitators arose they became known as Caravaggisti . The first converts were in Italy, including Giovanni Baglione, Orazio Gentileschi, and his daughter Artemisia Gentileschi , but soon the movement spread to France, where it opened the eyes of the young Georges de la Tour.

Allowing Silence

Georges de la Tour was 17 when Caravaggio died, by murder or lead poisoning depending on who you ask, but the master’s work lived on in La Tour, and evolved in a surprising way. We don’t know where La Tour learned to paint, and it’s only speculation that he traveled through Italy as a young man. We do know that he lived with his wife in the quiet town of Lunéville in France, slowly growing a reputation as a painter of quietly powerful religious scenes, and was eventually named Painter to the King by Louis XIII.

So why do we talk about La Tour? Many painters adopted Caravaggio’s style, but La Tour evolved it. Caravaggio’s work is all about the lighting. The viewer becomes a spotlight on figures in a dark room, capturing a moment with the clarity of a camera flash. La tour reduced the dramatic light source to a pinprick—a single candle illuminating faces lost in thought. Where Caravaggio’s light exposed violence, La Tour’s candles are intimate scenes of contemplation. I love La Tour. In a race to make paintings bolder, bigger, and more dramatic, La Tour gave silence its space.

Reed Enger, "Georges de La Tour, A Caravaggisti embraces silence," in Obelisk Art History , Published May 27, 2016; last modified October 31, 2022, http://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/georges-de-la-tour/.

Georges de La Tour was a French   Chiaroscuro Artist born on March 13, 1593. de La Tour contributed to the Baroque movement and died on January 30, 1652.

The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs 1630 – 1634

The Fortune Teller 1633 – 1639

The Magdalene with the Smoking Flame 1638 – 1640

The Newborn Christ 1640

The Penitent Magdalene 1640

The Repentant Magdalene 1635 – 1640

The Education of the Virgin 1650

Elisabetta Sirani

The mysterious death of a young art teacher

Diego Velázquez

The apex of Baroque portraiture

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin

Clara peeters, lucrina fetti, artemisia gentileschi, andreas cellarius.

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Saint Jerome

Georges de la tour, royal collection trust, uk london, united kingdom.

Charles II purchased this painting from the art dealer, William Frizell, for 150 florins, a relatively modest sum by comparison with the other Frizell acquisitions. It was one of only three French paintings in the group of 72 purchased in Breda in the month prior to the Restoration. At the time of acquisition the painting was described as 'St Jerome with spectacles of the manner of Albert Durer '.Subsequently the identification of the figure was forgotten and all seventeenth- and eighteenth-century inventories give no artist's name. An 1818 inventory of Kensington pictures attributes the painting to "Catalani". This attribution to Andrea or Antonio Catalani, identified as "Antonio Catalani, Il Romano (1560-1630)" by Anthony Blunt in 1946, continued into the twentieth century. In 1947 Vitale Bloch attributed the painting to Georges de La Tour and several other art historians also associated it with La Tour during these decades, as his career was being discovered. The painting was cleaned and conserved for the exhibition in Paris in 1972 and was shown for the first time as a fully accepted work by La Tour himself. In spite of abraded areas from previous treatments in the figure of St Jerome, the quality of La Tour's brushwork can still be seen.

Saint Jerome was a famous scholar who translated most of the Bible into Latin, yet here this humble, elderly man can only be identified as the saint thanks to his red cardinal's cassock. His other more usual attributes, such as a skull or cardinal's hat , are omitted. La Tour invests Saint Jerome with religious authority by the way in which the saint, isolated and emerging out of deep shadow, is absorbed in his reading. La Tour painted details with unfailing accuracy, so it is no surprise that the painting was associated with Durer in the seventeenth century. Saint Jerome's left eye is impaired so he uses his right eye (and the left lens of his spectacles ), which magnifies some hairs of his beard for the viewer. Old age is illuminated with great delicacy and realism: from a light source outside of the composition, Saint Jerome's gnarled hands, the few wispy white hairs on his bald head, the imperfections and wrinkles of his skin are illuminated. Even the red of his robe can be seen through the paper.This painting demonstrates La Tour's characteristic sensitivity to the texture of human hair and skin and his ability to endow the humblest figure with religious authority. His love of genre detail is demonstrated in the spectacles, which give the aged saint an air of added concentration.

At some date probably before 1662 the canvas of the painting was adhered to a branded oak panel in Antwerp . The brand of two open hands was used in Antwerp workshops in the first half of the 17th century. When the panel was restored for the 1972 Paris exhibition, the panel was removed but unfortunately it was not kept or recorded. The measurements of the canvas today are approximately the same as those in the inventory of Charles II's pictures from 1666-7. There has been much debate about whether or not the painting was originally larger so that the saint's arms were fully visible. The top and bottom edges of the canvas have a pronounced cusping pattern, whilst at the vertical edges, the orange-brown ground layer continues beyong the painted edges, proving that the painting has not been cut. The cropped composition makes the figure of Saint Jerome more powerful and dramatic and the relationship with the viewer more intimate.

There is a consensus that Saint Jerome was painted at the same time or slightly later than the suite of paintings of Christ and the Apostles donated to Albi Cathedral in 1694, possibly dated 1621-23 or 1624, many of which are copies of lost originals. The paintings of Saint Philip and Saint Paul are comparable. The recently discovered Saint Jerome is a larger variant of the Royal Collection painting and has been dated after it (c.1627-9) as have other versions known through copies. None of these later versions has the intimacy of the smaller Royal Collection painting, with its extraordinary stillness made more intense by the subtle play of light.

In the 1666 inventory, the painting hung at Whitehall in the passage between the Green Room and the Closet, alongside Charles II’s collection of artists’ portraits and Miereveld ’s A bearded old Man with a Shell ( cat . 126). It is listed in the same location in 1688, although by 1697 it had been moved to Kensington and so escaped the Whitehall fire.

• Title: Saint Jerome
• Creator: Georges de la Tour (1593-1652)
• External Link: http://www.rct.uk/collection/405462

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The Artists of Light: Georges de La Tour

€¢ â  illuminating light’s role in art history, • â  an approach to art.

If you’ve read the other entries in this Artists of Light series, you can skip right to the section on Georges de La Tour.

•   Georges de La Tour

Illuminating light’s role in art history.

It goes without saying that light and photography are linked.  As photographers we are obsessed with light and for good reason.  The effects of good lighting are remarkable.  And being able to handle light as a medium can open up entirely new ways of seeing the world.  As technology continues to improve it opens a clearer vision of the world around us than the early days of photography.

If you are old enough to remember, think back to the early days of underwater photography.  The grainy pictures felt like they were covered in a blue gauze that was unlike the experience of being underwater.  As technology improved we began to see the undersea world in all of its splendor.  The richness of colors and range of values continues to improve giving us an even deeper appreciation for the ocean.  All of this can be linked back to light.

Long before the invention of the camera, artists needed to tackle light in a different way.  They had to make it, literally by hand.  Starting with a canvas and paint, artists innovated ways to transform piles of ground pigment and oil into scenes that first shaped the illusion of light.

When you become a student of art history, you begin to see how many innovations led up to photography today.  Without that understanding, it is hard for your photography to progress.  But there is no need to beat yourself up for not taking those art classes you could have in college.  A photographer only needs a working knowledge of art to gain valuable resources for their own pictures. This “Artists of Light” series looks at four artists who represent a lineage of artists obsessed with light.  Their contributions are influential to the way that artists, art historians, and curators judge light.  Whether you are aware of them or not, they are the benchmark for what is considered good light.

An Approach to Art

While many people find Art with a capital “A” intimidating, it is helpful to keep in mind that you do not need to be a scholar to extract lessons from Art.  The paintings and sketchbooks of artists for the last 1,000 years were left to us precisely so we could study them.  Artists are not academics.  And while some artists study history more than others, any decent artist would prefer to make art than read about it.  As a result, they tend to study other artists just long enough to get what they need and get out.  They are not writing PhD theses on art movements.  Why?  Because if you prefer to make things, writing about making things is devastatingly boring.

With this in mind, you might consider keeping a small notebook with art observations.  Each time you see a piece of art that teaches you something, write it down.  It may surprise you that if you can learn just one thing from each painting you are attracted to, you will very quickly build up a reservoir of knowledge that is easy to recall at a moment’s notice.  And when you are out shooting, that is exactly the type of knowledge you want to have handy.

It may surprise you that if you can learn just one thing from each painting you are attracted to, you will very quickly build up a reservoir of knowledge that is easy to recall at a moment’s notice.

Georges de La Tour

This French painter is hardly mentioned in the world of photography, which is odd.  I’ll tell you why it is so strange.  As the battle for higher and higher ISOs took over the photo world, candle light photography became the “noise test” for any sensor.  But three hundred years before the Leica Noctilux was born, Georges de La Tour was painting figures in candlelight.

Three hundred years before the Leica Noctilux was born, Georges de La Tour was painting figures in candlelight.

The paintings each focus on the different arrangements of the candle and the subjects.  There are some where we see the candle, others where the candle is obscured, and a few where we see a combination of all the possible effects of candle light.  The shallow depth of field and nearly black backgrounds offer any photographer a range of lessons in how to capture delicate shadows and light.  One other thing to notice is that the shadows are almost never black.  They are a warm brown.  Many Photoshop-oriented photographers OBSESS over the black point and white point.

But what de La Tour discovered was that brown goes a longer way than black and a picture does not need a white point to glow.  When you make something black, in reality rather than on screen, it fails to take into account that when you make a print, the room is almost never as bright as the screen.  Sure you can adjust and calibrate, but a painting in a room should come alive and go to sleep.  In order for this to happen many artists keep the values of their painting “almost black.”  They let the changing light conditions in the room make up the last step towards darkness.

The Artists of Light: Caravaggio

An Early Cult Figure

The Artists of Light: Rembrandt van Rijn

The Delicate Relationship Between Age and Lighting

The Artists of Light: Titian

An Early Pioneer of Capturing Light on a Canvas

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The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame

Georges de La Tour (France, Vic-sur-Seille, 1593-1652)

Curator notes.

Chrétien de Nogent, ca. 1640(?).

Chrétien de Nogent, ca. 1640(?). La Haye family, near Bordeaux, where traditionally attributed to Le Nain and was said to come from the eastern part of France. Simone La Haye, Paris, ca. 1943, sold 1977 to; LACMA.

Bibliography

• Conisbee, Philip. Georges de La Tour and His World . Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1996.
• Thuillier, Jacques. Georges de la Tour . Paris: Flammarion, 1992.
• The Arts of France from François Ier to Napoléon Ier: a Centennial Celebration of Wildenstein's Presence in New York . New York: Wildenstein & Co., Inc., 2005.
• Lehmbeck, Leah, editor. Gifts of European Art from The Ahmanson Foundation . Vol. 2, French Painting and Sculpture . Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019.
• Donahue, Kenneth. Los Angeles County Museum of Art Handbook . Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977.
• Schaefer, Scott, and Peter Fusco. European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Illustrated Summary Catalogue . Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.
• Price, Lorna.  Masterpieces from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.   Los Angeles:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988.
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art Members' Calendar 1990.  vol. 27-28, no. 12-1 (December, 1989-January, 1991).

Conisbee, Philip et al. The Ahmanson Gifts: European Masterpieces in the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art . Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991.

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art Members' Calendar 1993,  vol. 31, no. 1-11 (January-November, 1993).
• Cuzin, Jean-Pierre. Georges de la Tour . Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1997.
• Mittler, Gene A.  Art in Focus.  Glencoe/MacMillan McGraw-Hill, 2000.
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art .  New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
• Marandel, J. Patrice and Gianni Papi. 2012. Caravaggio and his Legacy. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
• Muchnic, Suzanne. LACMA So Far: Portrait of a Museum in the Making . San Marino, California: Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 2015.
• Salmon, Dimitri and Andrés Úbeda de los Cobos, eds. Georges de la Tour: 1593-1652 . Madrid: Museo Nacional del Prado, 2016.

Marandel, J. Patrice. Abecedario: Collecting and Recollecting . Los Angeles: Art Catalogues; LACMA, 2017.

• Judovitz, Dalia. Georges de La Tour and the Enigma of the Visible . New York: Fordham University Press, 2018.

King, Jennifer, ed. Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera . Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books-Prestel, 2020.

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