Lighting can transform artwork into a masterpiece.

The integrity and precision of lighting play a crucial role in faithfully representing the colors, materials, and dimensions of an artwork with authenticity.

• Employ a high Color Rendering index of ≥90 or even ≥95 for optimal color fidelity.
• Determine a Color Temperature tailored for specific artworks or for an ensemble, ensuring it harmonizes with your living spaces. Warm tones enhance reds/oranges, corten steel, and wood, while cooler shades emphasize blues/greens, concrete, and glass. The 3000K or 3500K can be an ideal compromise for residences, while 4000K is more common in museums.
• Avoid light sources emitting UV and IR, which can degrade pigments. LEDs are usually apt for this purpose, excluding "blue-free" sources derived from violet LEDs (instead of blue), used residentially for their positive impact on melatonin production. Moreover, keep artworks away from windows and natural light for similar protective reasons.
• Opt for lenses that match the width of the painting or the dimensions of the sculpture, ensuring the beam doesn't disrupt the viewer's experience (unless intended).
• Position light sources to achieve uniform illumination on canvases or balanced lighting for sculptures, always mindful of visual comfort. Ideally, lights should be placed between the viewer and the artwork, directed towards it. Top-down, or "zenithal," lighting feels more natural, while bottom-up lighting imparts a more "dramatic" effect with contrasting shadows.

Solutions for Residential Lighting

The means to achieve optimal lighting are numerous:

• Cove lighting (Indirect Lighting): Probably the cleanest and most homogeneous way to light a painting, from a reservation in the ceiling (in construction or renovation). It should be a little wider than the thickness of the artwork, even up to 30-40cm for a skylight effect. Care should be taken with reflections between the light source in the gorge and the material of the painting, which may be more or less reflective.
• Adjustable Spots or Asymmetric Optics: Recessed or exposed, on rails or fixed, this is a quite flexible way to light an artwork, especially if it might change. The same aesthetic of these spots can be found elsewhere in the house, providing continuity (with different optics, intensities, etc.). This can also refer to recessed floor lights for a sculpture or a textured wall.
• Asymmetric Diffusion Light Line: Visible or recessed, this directed and homogeneous lighting can be sized based on the width of the painting, for a very effective rendering on the canvas and an added luminosity in the room. In a corridor, it emphasizes direction.
• Wall Sconce for Paintings: Linear or spot, this solution is quite effective for lighting a painting from the top, across its entire length (as long as the model allows). It's less flexible (due to wall power supply) and is aesthetically more prominent.
• Lighting Integrated into Furniture: For smaller items, the same principle as spots or light lines is used, but in miniature form.

Copyright LampTwist | Guide to residential lighting - Written and illustrated by Aurore Renard - www.aurore.studio