The Rembrandt Light in Photography 
(Rembrandt Harmenzoon van Rijn & Gaspard-Félix Tournachon)

The earliest photography studios utilised natural light and were located at the tops of buildings. They boasted large glass windows in the ceiling and on one side, specifically in the north-facing section of the studio (1). This orientation provided consistent lighting throughout the day by preventing direct sunlight from disturbing the interior space. However, the lack of direct sunlight diminished light intensity, requiring subjects to remain still for several seconds to avoid blurred images.

Early portraits emulated a realistic pictorial aesthetic, with Rembrandt (2) as a pivotal reference owing to his mastery of light and shadow, both in portraying subjects and in the backgrounds of his works.

Early photographers controlled these contrasts by adjusting the subject’s position in relation to the camera and by strategically placing curtains over the studio’s glass windows. A notable portrait photographer from this period was Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, better known as Nadar (3). The technique known as "Rembrandt lighting" (4) would become a defining technique in portrait photography and an integral part of the photographic lexicon throughout history.