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There are so many things to consider when lighting artwork. If art lighting is done correctly, colours and textures come to life. If done incorrectly, lighting can damage the pigments and materials causing premature aging and degradation to the artwork.

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Artwork can be a big investment and of course even while indirectly, it represents the buyer in much the same way the exterior of the building, interior decor, lighting, cleanliness create the first impressions on any client who interacts with them so correct specification of lighting can be very important. Lighting artwork is largely about preservation but aesthetics can play an equally important role as we all want our investments to look their very best and why not? There are many important factors you really need to consider when lighting artwork in a corporate space but many of these things still apply when lighting artwork in the home.

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~ How much light for artwork? ~

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All colours across the colour spectrum combined produce white light but just outside of this visible spectrum is ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Many light sources (especially the sun) emit these damaging wavelengths, so it’s important to choose light sources carefully.

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To highlight paintings contrast is key. We know light can guide and focus our attention, so light onto artwork needs to be brighter than its immediate surrounding area. This ratio is important and depends on several factors.

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Many galleries have relatively low levels of illumination to limit their artworks exposure to light (Lux-hours). Conversely, some corporate spaces have bright lighting. The lower the general light levels the less accent light ( light focusing on a particular area or object ) is needed and less light for limited periods reduces the likelihood of damage to a painting.

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Considering lux-hours is essential for delicate pieces of artwork such as watercolours.

The Society of Light and Lighting offer advice in their CIBSE lighting guide 8 (LG8) of Illuminaince exposure for different types of pictures – see section 5.2:

Irresponsive –  LUX: no limit – LUX HOURS:  no limit

Low responsivity – LUX: 200 – LUX HOURS: 600,000

Medium responsivity – LUX 50 – LUX HOURS: 150,000

High responsivity – LUX 50 – LUX HOURS 15,000

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Therefore if you’re lighting highly responsive, sensitive pieces like watercolours, a maximum of 50lux for up to 300 hours a year is recommended.

To get a noticeable contrast you need a minimum ratio of 3:1 of accent light to general light, although a much higher ratio is sometimes required.

 

~ What are the best light fittings for lighting artwork? ~

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LED light sources are designed to produce light in specific parts of the visible spectrum. Most LED’s do not produce any infrared or ultraviolet light, so generally LED’s are a good light source to use for lighting artwork. That said, because they produce light at particular wavelengths, the way they render colour is not always as good as conventional light sources. (Read to our blog on colour rendering here for more information on this) LED can particularly struggle with rendering red colours (R9 value) so some colours in paintings can look distorted or dull under LED, which is of course a concern. If you are using LED light fittings you should to be looking at a minimum CRI value of 90 with a particularly good R9 value. We’ve found the Xicatio artist series LED chip is a good choice for some applications.

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Another consideration is the colour temperature of the light source (For more information on colour temperature click here). It’s true that reds, oranges, browns, gold’s etc look better under warm white light, whereas whites, blues, greys, silvers look better under cooler white. 3000 or 4000 Kelvin is often considered ‘neutral’ and is generally chosen for most galleries. However there are now many ‘tuneable’ or ‘dynamic’ white light fittings available, where you can adjust the colour temperature of the fitting to suit the colour palette of each painting. These are certainly worth considering, although of course they come at a cost and you need to carefully consider a lighting control system.

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When it comes to type of fitting this clearly depends on location. Generally most galleries require flexibility because displays are regularly changed. 3 circuit lighting track and spotlights offer this flexibility, so it’s no surprise many galleries opt for a track and spot system. There are some fantastic track mounted luminaries specifically designed for lighting artwork. There’s also a good range of track mounted framing projectors that use gobos to perfectly frame a painting with light. For guidance on the best track and spot fixtures to use on your project, please feel free to get in touch.

 

Track and spots are not the only way to light artwork. Fixed linear wall washers can provide an even, uniformed wash of light giving maximum flexibility, but contrast is lost. Spot lights, or linear picture lights, mounted off the wall, local to each picture, is another method that can work well. The depth of arm and length of picture light is determined by the size of artwork. Generally picture lights should be 2/3rds the width of the artwork.

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When it comes to mounting light fittings care needs to be taken to avoid incident glare. Spectral highlights from glossy finishes such as oil paintings can be a particular issue, or reflections in glass fronted pictures.

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~ Glare ~

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This occurs when we you can see the reflection of the light source on the painting, due either to the reflective nature of the medium used or because of glass placed over the painting to protect it.

Incidence glare can be avoided by careful consideration of the location of lighting equipment in relation to the viewer. Using snoots, louvers and baffles can also help reduce the impact of glare. We look at several calculations to determine the best location of light fittings to avoid glare and reduce shadowing from the viewer, but a general rule of thumb is to locate the fittings 25-40 degrees from the downwards vertical. Ideally lighting should come slightly form the side, especially for consistency when lighting multiple pieces.

 

 

We always recommend the most effective way for determining location of light fittings is to do a mock up.

 

~ Sunlight ~

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Due to the high levels of UV, direct sunlight on paintings should be avoided. It is by far the most powerful cause of premature aging for paintings and is especially important with watercolours and drawings that fade very quickly. Sunlight should be filtered via UV glass to minimize the exposure to UV.

 

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