Google The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Delaroche
When lighting works, it can add a totally different dimension to the story that an artist is trying to tell. One of the best examples of this is The Execution of Lady Jane Grey.
For me, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey is one painting I can’t help but stop and stare at when I visit the National Gallery in London (and I’m not the only one, apparently, it’s the most polished part of the floor in the entire gallery).
Despite the many mixed reviews the painting received from critics, it manages to be beautiful and romantic whilst also being massively uncomfortable and unjust to look at.
You’ve got Lady Jane Grey in the foreground on the morning of her execution (clue’s in the name I guess) eyes covered so you can see her trying to just feel her way onto the executioner’s block. The executioner himself is looking on from the side as if he’s got something better to do, and everyone else is crying around her. It’s already a scene of mixed emotions, but it’s the lighting that really makes it.
In an odd way (and bear with me on this one) it’s a bit like the opening credits of Mr Bean, where the spotlight is placed directly above the subject (yep, I did say bear with me). The affect of this lighting gives Lady Jane Grey an almost celestial look; highlighted by the white dress and white blindfold. I seem to remember the opening credits to Mr Bean had some angelic music to accompany it, which wouldn’t be out of place with this painting either.
Delaroche took key moments from history and sprinkled a bit of artistic licence on them to deliver the emotional response he was looking for, but whatever you think of the subject matter, he was a true genius when it came to manipulating light and shade for dramatic impact.