À la tombée de la nuit…

Art et histoire de l'éclairage

Since the dawn of time, man has used all his ingenuity to find a way to prolong his days after sunset. After who knows how many experiments we have in the prehistoric remains of Lascaux the first timid signs of man’s successful control of fire. During the second millennium BC he perfected an artefact designed specifically to illuminate his surroundings, the lamp. Of all the essential tools used in daily life, the lamp is the only one that goes far beyond its merely utilitarian function. Swathed in myths, sometimes a legend in itself, the lamp is in most societies a link between man and the gods, between the material and the spiritual.

À la tombée de la nuit. Art et histoire de l’éclairage, illustrated with wonderful photographs, highlights the lamp’s multifarious functions and examines a vast number of curious and ancient objects made with a wide range of materials.
Page after page, this book describes the daily, spiritual and professional life of mankind in relation to illumination—not to mention the festivals made possible by the availability of a source of light.The inventions discussed are endless and range from pyrotechnics to the magic lantern, the forerunner of the cinema.

Laurent Chrzanovski is an archaeologist specializing in ancient and medieval lighting.