Derived from Italian, the term refers to the play of light and shade in paintings. The technique, which has its roots in the Renaissance, was employed to create tonal contrast that enhanced the three-dimensional appearance of people and objects. Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt are remembered as the most famous proponents of this technique, but spare a thought for Jan Vermeer, who created images of stunning beauty with the use of light, usually streaming through a window, in canvases such as ‘The Kitchen Maid’ and ‘Woman in Blue Reading a Letter’.