Grasping Shadows: The Dark Side in Painting

FULBRIGHT LECTURE What's in a shadow? Danger and death? Or the vital life-force of whatever object casts it? Are shadows seductive nothings or truth-telling images of repressed sexuality and violence? Starting with literary examples from Dickens, this lecture will untangle the complexity of shadow-meaning by exploring how artists have used shadows since ancient times. Works by Van Eyck, Masaccio, Leonardo, Munch, Picasso, Sargent, Hopper, and many others will be discussed. The transcript...