Artistic Theories of Light

Although Leonardo de Vinci discovered in the 15th century discovered a technique known as 'Chiarscuro' which in Italian terms means 'light and dark'. It was until a century later in the Baroque Movement an artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon who mastered the technique to create a sense of 3 dimensional space in his paintings. 

Nightwatch by Rembrandt .

source: http://ppaintinga.com/paintings-rembrandt/

We can see in this image that there is strong contrast of light and dark and this creates a realistic painting with sharp shadows at the front and softer ones in the back. Rembrandt really utilised this technique when creating religious pictures he would removed christ's halo and replace with a strong light source; this got him in trouble with the authorities.  

Turner considered the 'painter of light' created many scenes later on in his career expressing feelings through the use of light using vibrant hues his paintings look almost dream like. In his early years he studied the effects of sea and sky in every kind of weather. Considered the founder of English landscape painters. 

http://www.michaelarnoldart.com/Turner.grandcanal.750pix.jpg