Paper and light

15 Oct 2024 — 19 Jan 2025 at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, United States

6 January 2025

Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle, Figures walking in a parkland (detail), 1783–1800. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum

For centuries, artists have explored the dynamic interplay between paper and light, using drawing to capture and convey the essence of illumination.

This exhibition highlights innovative approaches to translucency and the representation of light, featuring works by artists such as Tiepolo, Delacroix, Seurat, Manet, and contemporary creators like Vija Celmins. A centerpiece of the exhibition is Carmontelle’s extraordinary 12-foot-long transparency, an 18th-century precursor to motion pictures, displayed lit from behind as originally intended.

Through these masterpieces, the exhibition celebrates the remarkable ways artists have harnessed paper and light to create both subtle and spectacular effects.

J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum seeks to inspire curiosity about, and enjoyment and understanding of, the visual arts by collecting, conserving, exhibiting and interpreting works of art of outstanding quality and historical importance.

Museum profile

Location

Los Angeles, United States

Founded in

2006

Charles Samuel Keene, Self-portrait, about 1845. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum

Georges Seura, Poplars, about 1883–84. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum

Paul Cézanne, Still life with blue pot, about 1900–06. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum

Charles Samuel Keene, Self-portrait, about 1845. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum
Georges Seura, Poplars, about 1883–84. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum
Paul Cézanne, Still life with blue pot, about 1900–06. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum

Georges Seura, Poplars, about 1883–84. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum
Paul Cézanne, Still life with blue pot, about 1900–06. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum
Charles Samuel Keene, Self-portrait, about 1845. Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Museum