Genre
Diffuse Light
Diffuse light has no single source and casts no hard shadow — the even, sourceless glow of an overcast day or a north-facing studio. It is the most truthful light for description, flattering nothing and hiding nothing, which is why portraitists and still-life painters have always prized it.
Key artists
Works
The Interior of an Atelier of a Woman Painter
Susanna Truax
The Cathedrals of Art
Prospekt af hovedgården Lykkesholm på Fyn. Vinter
Sir Anthony Mildmay, Knight of Apethorpe, Northamptonshire
The woman conversing with her children, as the leopard returns, egged on by a fox who is tied to his leg, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night
Untitled
The Cathedrals of Wall Street
Traveling Warriors Stopping at a Farm
Parochialstrasse in Berlin
Magnolia
The Cup of Tea
Young Mother Sewing
伝海北友雪筆 『源氏物語』 絵巻|The Tale of Genji
Untitled
A Hunter with a Dog
In the Studio (Gari Melchers and Hugo Reisinger)
Father, Mother, and Child in a Park
Untitled
Marion Feasting the British Officer on Sweet Potatoes
Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels
Untitled
Camille Monet (1847–1879) in the Garden at Argenteuil
Queen Nefertari Playing Senet
Tea Leaves
Breton Fishermen and Their Families
Untitled
Preparing Dough, Tomb of Rekhmire
Untitled
Cider
Le port de Honfleur la nuit
Inter artes et naturam (Between Art and Nature)
Alexander the Great or Hector of Troy (from The Nine Heroes Tapestries)
Young Mother Gazing at Her Child
Honfleur: Calvary
An Artist Painting a Heraldic Shield in a Cabinet of Curiosities
Nakhtamun's Funeral Procession, Tomb of Nakhtamun
拾遺古徳伝絵断簡|Illustrated Biography of Hōnen (Shūikotokūden-e)
Ramesses III and Prince Amenherkhepeshef before Hathor
Repairing the Bridge
Sifting Meal, Tomb of Rekhmire
Untitled
Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy
Comical Repast (Banquet of the Starved)
Naval Officer
Street Group
Aretino in the Studio of Tintoretto
Thutmose I and His Mother Seniseneb
Village Scene, Grasse
The Music Room
Consolation of Ariadne
Haymakers at Montfermeil
Straw Hat, Bag, and Umbrella
The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night
Pilgrims Travelling to Ise
Taking Shelter from the Rain
A Village Street: Dardagny
Boats with Mourners and Provisions, Tomb of Neferhotep
Laden Donkeys and Ploughing, Tomb of Djar
Princess Pauline Metternich (1836–1921) on the Beach
Weaning the Calves
A Man Asleep Alongside a Dog and a Horse
The Road from Moret to Saint-Mammès
Courtesan and her Attendant under a Cherry Tree
The Ropewalk in Edam
Trimming Wood with an Adze, Tomb of Rekhmire
Sandal Maker, Tomb of Rekhmire
Interior with Paintings and a Pheasant
The Parc Monceau
南宋 馬和之 詩經小雅鴻雁之什六篇圖 卷|Courtly Odes, Beginning with "Wild Geese"
Book Cover
Sculptor's Studio
An Interesting Story (Miss Ray)
源氏物語絵巻 「澪標」|“Channel Markers” (Miotsukushi)
Children in Woods
Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye Enthroned Beneath a Kiosk, Tomb of Anen
Itinerant Actors
Mother and Child
Untitled
Santa Maria della Salute
Sculptors at Work, Tomb of Rekhmire
Women Preparing Food, Tomb of Djari
Untitled
A Woman Ironing
Louise
The Family of Claude Terrasse
Nasturtiums with the Painting "Dance" I
Rubens Peale with a Geranium
Palazzo da Mula, Venice
Beach at Beverly
Anna Maria Cumpston
Roadside Cottage
Child Wearing a Red Scarf
The prince and Nikfal are joined by Khalis and the Mukhlis who are the grateful snake and frog in human form, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
Monkeys on a Rock Ledge
The prince, having deprived the snake of its natural food, a frog, feeds it with a piece of his own flesh, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
Bamboo, Rock, and Tall Tree
The Enlightened Stone Retreat, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Ducks and Reeds
The Large Tree
The lion returns to his territory and sees the monkey conversing with the lynx, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night
Operating on Guan Yu's Arm
New Year's Day in a Village at Stone Lake
Krishna Playing the Flute and other Episodes from the Bhagavata Purana
The Nodding Stone Terrace, Tiger Hill, and the Thousand-Man Seat, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Paintings after Ancient Masters: Scholars in a Garden
Water Lilies (Agapanthus)
Owl
Krishna Fluting
Bamboo and Rock
Minamoto no Nakakuni Visits Lady Kogō
Haverstraw Bay
The Thousand Acres of Clouds, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Bridge over a canal in Venice
Untitled
Gamepiece with a Dead Heron ("Falconer's Bag")
The Net Mender (Garnbinderen)
Arab Warrior
Masons Squaring a Block, Tomb of Rekhmire
Vase of Flowers
Woman Cooling Herself
Group of Figures
Base for a Statuette
Morning in the Garden at Vernonnet
Netting Birds, Tomb of Khnumhotep
Monju on a Lion
Carpenters at Work, Tomb of Rekhmire
Green and Gold
Deceased Being Towed in a Boat, Tomb of Rekhmire
The Fable of the Miller, His Son, and the Donkey
The Banks of the Rance, Brittany
The Third Princess with her Cat, from the "New Herbs I" (Wakana I) chapter The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari}
Retreat from the Storm
Woman with a Mirror (Femme qui se mire)
Amusements in Kyoto in the Four Seasons
The Peddler
Facsimile painting from the tomb of Rekhmire
Roundel with Architecture (from a series of The Septem Artes Mechanicae)
The Six Poetic Immortals
源氏物語画帖|The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari)
Courtesan-Dancer (Shirabyōshi) for the New Year
The Dining Room, Vernonnet
Famous Women
Psyche
Granite
The Celebration of the Mass
Illustrated Legends of the Origins of the Kumano Shrines (Kumano engi emaki)
Drinking Festival of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup
Carpenter Making a Chair, Tomb of Rekhmire
Nebamun Receiving Wine
Masqueraders
Fishermen
明/清 佚名 人物故事圖 卷|Family Visit
Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, Rome
Kabuki Theater
Festivities of the Twelve Months: “Sannō Hiyoshi Festivals Held on the Day of the Monkey in the Mid-Fourth Month”; Festivities of the Twelve Months: “Sumō Wrestling at Matsuno’o Shrine during the Hass
The Cigarette (Jeanne Daurmont)
An Egyptian Peasant Woman and Her Child
A Window at Night
The Four Deities of Mount Kōya
Princess Ogimi from the "Bridge Maiden" (Hashihime) chapter from The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari)
Reverie
Graziella
Preparing and Cooking Cakes, Tomb of Rekhmire
Eight Daoist Immortals
Untitled
Victims of the Fiesta
A Peasant with a Bird
Dancers in the Rehearsal Room with a Double Bass
Jungle Tales (Contes de la Jungle)
Untitled
Casting Metal, Tomb of Rekhmire
Fishing and Fowling, Tomb of Ipuy
源氏物語画帖「玉鬘」|“A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura), from The Tale of Genji
Cup and saucer
The Lovers
Palace banquet
Denise at Her Dressing Table
Interior View of the Metropolitan Museum of Art when in Fourteenth Street
The Port de Bougie, Algiers, in Sunlight
Courtesan and Attendant Playing with a Dog
Two Men at a Table, Man Eating (from Switzerland 1869 Sketchbook)
View of Lateran, Rome
In the Garden
The Palace of Aurora
Young Woman Praying
The Cathedrals of Fifth Avenue
Young Woman Reading
Horse Race at Kamo
Five Beauties
The Cup of Love
The Third Princess and a Cat, from the "New Herbs I" (Wakana I) chapter The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari}
Watchcase cover: Tisiphone Casting Snakes at Athamas and Ino
Plaque with Censing Angels
Vaudeville Act
Banquet in Silence
Carey's Backyard
A Discussion
Man Holding a Bottle and a Cup
Cooking Cakes with Fat, Tomb of Rekhmire
Frequently asked questions
What is Diffuse Light?
Diffuse light has no single source and casts no hard shadow — the even, sourceless glow of an overcast day or a north-facing studio.
How many Diffuse Light works does Artifact World Gallery have?
Artifact World Gallery holds 41,895 public-domain Diffuse Light works, all free to view and download.
Who are the key Diffuse Light artists?
Key Diffuse Light artists in the collection include Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Edgar Degas and Jean Honoré Fragonard.