“The Creation of Light,” a celebrated work by Gustave Doré from the year 1866, belongs to the Romanticism art movement. It is a religious painting that forms part of a series illustrating the Holy Bible. This artwork is noted for its bold illustration of one of the seminal moments in Biblical lore.
The artwork captures the divine act of the creation of light, as narrated in the Book of Genesis. Gustave Doré, with his masterful strokes, portrays an intense burst of light cutting through the surrounding darkness, signifying the moment when God said, “Let there be light.” The engraving is highly detailed, with the light rendered in such a way that it seems to emanate from the center of the piece, dispersing the cloudy textures of darkness that fill the rest of the composition. Heavy contrasts and dramatic textures provide a powerful depiction of this epic moment. The skillful use of light and shadow not only exemplifies the Romantic fascination with nature and the sublime but also evokes a profound sense of the spiritual and the divine, a characteristic theme in Doré’s religious works.
