March 7, 2024 Jasmine Yang

Significance of high-quality color rendition in art rooms and studios

A high-quality light source and the lighting environment it could create is essential to the quality of fine art during its creation as well as to the presentation and display of artworks. Both occasions require a superior lighting condition which is not only pleasant but very importantly could create an environment where true color could be easily perceived by artists and visitors. YUJILEDS has developed SunWave™(full spectrum LED)/NormLite™ lighting products and solutions for art display and art creation environments.

Light and vision matters

We see various colors in everyday life, red apples, green leaves, colorful candy. Most people take it for granted that these colors are inherent in these objects, but is this really the case?

When under the sun, you will see a red apple in a bright red. But when placing the apple in a place where there is only a blue light source, you will see a blue apple. This is because the color of the apple that people see depends on the color of the light reflected by the apple, which in fact is the remaining light the apple reflects after absorbing certain color of light from the illuminating light source. An apple looks blue under a blue light because it does not absorb any blue light and reflects them all. An apple looks black under a green light because it absorbs most green light and reflects none.

Under sunlight Under Yuji LED Under blue light Under green light

We know that a prism decomposes the sunlight into the visible light of seven basic colors of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. The reason why the apple under the sun looks red is because it absorbs colors of light other than red, and only reflects the red light remained in the illuminating light. These reflected red light enters human eye and is perceived as a red apple. When illuminating the apple with only a blue light, all the light is absorbed by the apple without any reflection, thus we see a black apple. It becomes clear that the color of certain object we see is not necessarily its original color, but actually varies greatly with the spectrum of the light source.

Why light is so important, not only in illumination

In the light of the basic color perception principles, the quality of the light source is very important in art creation environment. Pigment of certain color will be seen as different colors in human eyes under different light sources, thus essential for the visual quality in art creation and display. The colors an artist sees during the painting process determines what colors he/she is creating in a paintwork but these colors may not be seen the same in place for display unless the light sources in creation and display environments are quite close. Similar light spectra are important in color reproduction of artworks but light quality matters most. Mostly, human tend to believe that the original color of certain object is what it looks like under sunlight (sunlight spectrum actually). Therefore, an artificial light source that has a spectrum closer to sunlight is regarded as a higher quality light source and is supposed to create colors of artworks closer to the true colors.

Secret in high-quality colors – high CRI lighting

The different impacts between incandescent, fluorescent and LED lamp on your painting

Now we know that high-quality light sources are very important for the creation and appreciation of artworks. What are the basic qualities that a light for artwork creation should possess? The very first and essential quality needed is the lamp’s ability to render authentic colors. We know that sunlight is the best source of light, and it has a well-balanced energy distribution in the entire visible light range 380nm-800nm. In order to quantify the color rendering ability of an artificial light source, the concept of Color Rendering Index (CRI) is defined. It evaluates the color rendering ability of the light source according to how close an object looks under an artificial illuminant to its color displayed under a sunlight. It is stipulated that the CRI of sunlight is 100, and the closer the color observed under the artificial light source is to that under the sunlight, the higher the CRI of the light source is.

Daylight 5000K spectra of CIE standard illuminant, Yuji LED and Fluorescent lamp

The white light we used in the past, mostly fluorescent lamps, has the spectrum shown. It can be seen that the spectrum of a fluorescent lamp has a high energy output at several specific wavelengths, while most other wavelengths have a low energy output distribution. This is a source of extremely uneven energy output distribution. In recent years, LED lighting is developing rapidly. LED chips could excite phosphors to produce a smooth spectral curve. However, depending on the chip used and the phosphor, an LED emitter will have different color rendering properties.

What Are Right Lights for Art Rooms and Studios

In addition to CRI, the choice of color temperature is also very important. For a same white light source, its color of light will vary greatly depending on the color temperature as well. As the color temperature rises, the color of the white changes from warm yellow to pure white, to blueish cold white. If an artist is painting under a low color temperature, the warm yellow light makes the whole picture yellowish. In order to achieve a visual balance, the artist will probably add excessive blue pigments into the picture. Therefore, paintings drawn in such an environment, when placed in a neutral white display room, will reveal an overall blueish tone. Similarly, when viewing a neutral-toned painting in a low color temperature environment, the painting looks yellowish.

In contrast, painting under a high color temperature environment, cold white light will make the image looks blue, which leads artist adding excessive yellow pigments into the picture unconsciously and produces untrue colors. Meanwhile, when appreciating an artwork under a cool white light, you will see much blueish.

So what color temperature is best for art studio lighting? It is generally considered that 5000-6000K is a relatively neutral color temperature of whites for art creation and display. Under a light condition of such a color temperature, the deviation of color temperature in observing the color produced by the artwork can be avoided to the utmost extent. In summary, high CRI 5000-6000K light source is an ideal choice for art studio lighting.（See more "The Importance of High CRI and Best Color Temperature for Painting and Drawing"）