Black, White, and Rembrandt

While at the National Gallery of Art yesterday, my daughters and I enjoyed the current exhibit of Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt then walked through the Rembrandt collection. I've always been drawn to his work partly due to his magical use of dramatic lighting know as chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro is the term used to describe a dramatic use of light and shade to achieve stunning visual effects in a work of art. Rembrandt mastered this technique, pioneered by Leonardo da Vinci, by manipulating light and shadow to create a dramatic atmospheric mood around his focal point.

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To be honest, it seems a bit crazy to include images of Rembrandt's work in this post. What connection could possibly exist between his genius and my work on furniture? Well if you read this blog, you'll know that I've been exploring the concept of contrasts in color and texture. Rembrandt's mastery of contrasts in the use of light and shadow inspires me to find new ways to express this.

This tall dresser is the next in a series of black and white dressers where I play around with contrasts in texture, color, and finishes.

Thoughts on hardware

Whenever I can, I buy vintage hardware from my favorite seller, Violette Slippers. I wasn't decided on the hardware for this piece so I posted options on Instagram. First option repeated the dresser's horizontal lines, second option was a combo between round and straight lines, and the third option was rusty old round knobs that achieved a nice contrast. And since contrasts are my favorite things, I went with the round knobs.

Follow me on Instagram as I'll be sharing more process shots in the coming weeks!

 

               

Linking up: Sand and Sisal/Inspire Me Monday  •  Mod Vintage Life  •  By Stephanie Lynn  •  Savvy Southern Style  •  The Golden Sycamore  •  Miss Mustard Seed  •  Liz Marie Blog