Abstract

Brewster’s dark patch is a simple optical effect in the environment. It is easily seen, but apparently it has not been formally noticed or explained until quite recently. Nevertheless, some artists appear to have represented it in paintings without, of course, knowing its optical origins. A case can be made that a watercolor by Albrecht Dürer from around 1497 illustrates the phenomenon.

© 2020 Optical Society of America

Polarization optics of the Brewster’s dark patch visible on water surfaces versus solar height and sky conditions: theory, computer modeling, photography, and painting

Péter Takács, András Barta, David Pye, and Gábor Horváth
Appl. Opt. 56(30) 8353-8361 (2017)

Atmospheric optics in art

Stanley David Gedzelman
Appl. Opt. 30(24) 3514-3522 (1991)

Infrared Reflectography: a Method for the Examination of Paintings

J. R. J. van Asperen de Boer
Appl. Opt. 7(9) 1711-1714 (1968)

Detection of polarization neutral points in observations of the combined corona and sky during the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse

Frans Snik, Steven P. Bos, Stefanie A. Brackenhoff, David S. Doelman, Emiel H. Por, Felix Bettonvil, Michiel Rodenhuis, Dmitry Vorobiev, Laura M. Eshelman, and Joseph A. Shaw
Appl. Opt. 59(21) F71-F77 (2020)

Solar eclipse skies and limb reddening

Stanley David Gedzelman
Appl. Opt. 59(21) F78-F84 (2020)