THE MOTION OF TIME
  • Shadows and the time of the day

The previous chapter concerned shadows in paintings. Since shadows are a mobile element, they suggest possible motion. The paintings mentioned in the chapter on shadows can be analysed in this light, as views where shadows corresponding to a particular moment of the day play a structural role.

 Canaletto's views of London

see those at Goodwood House

and those in the Royal Collection

  • Multimedia evocations of pictorial shadows

Return to the section on shadows in the cd-rom Georgian Cities, studying it in the light of other sections on the moments of the day in painting.

Canaletto and shadows: the present image (screenshots from the cd-rom Georgian Cities) shows how the user, pressing the button 'Light and shade', may try different lighting effects on the dome of St Paul's and understand why Canaletto selected one of them.