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c h a p t e r 1: UNDERSTANDING LIGHTING, COLOR, AND COMPOSITION ■

Film noir is closely related to German expressionism, which was an art move-

ment popular in Germany from 1905 to 1925. German expressionism was dominated

by the dark, sinister aspects of the human psyche. The movement is known for its

bold, simpliﬁed woodcuts (see Figure 1.3) and its atmospheric horror cinema (for

example, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919).

Figure 1.3 Emil Nolde (1867–1956). Prophet. 1912.

Woodcut print.

The roots of expressionism can be traced to the chiaroscuro painting style of

the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy and Flanders. Chiaroscuro is deﬁned by a bold

contrast between lights and darks (the word is Italian for light-dark). This is often

characterized by ﬁgures in bright pools of light jutting through dark spaces. Chiar-

oscuro reached its pinnacle with the baroque art movement (17th and 18th centuries

in Europe) and is exempliﬁed by master painters Caravaggio (1573–1610) and Rem-

brandt (1606–69). For example, in Figure 1.4, Jesus and his disciples are lit by the

light of a single high window from the left. A ﬁll light reaches the front of the table

and the sides of their faces; however, the result is fairly subtle.

When painters push for stronger contrast, unlit areas of the scene are rarely

painted with pure black. In Figure 1.5, an unidentiﬁed key light arrives from the

left. No other source of light is apparent. Yet, a background wall is visible due to a

faint ﬁll. In addition, the head of a central character is seen in the shadow. Hence,

the paintings illustrated in Figures 1.4 and 1.5 bridge the gap between 1- and 2-point

lighting.

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