Displaying art to perfection with ERCO Eclipse contour spotlight

Rembrandt's Girl in the Window in the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, or the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Paris: art masterpieces have always sparked fascination and cast a spell over the observer. This effect is caused by the artistic achievement itself but is also credited to how the work of art is displayed, which can be created in any exhibition with the use of light. Light opens art up to experience. The ideal lighting in museums or galleries – adapted to the exhibition concept – is exacting and discerning, as it contributes to how visitors perceive what they see. It might even be said that lighting art is an art in itself. Mastering this requires suitable lighting tools and approach to lighting product design.

Curators and lighting designers define framing, or lighting with the use of contours, as sharply defined beams of light that precisely illuminate exhibits in galleries and museums. The background, usually the wall, remains in the dark, thus creating a beguiling and magical impression. Conventional contour spotlights only fulfil this single lighting task and are inflexible in further applications. ERCO has developed a solution for this conundrum with its Eclipse contour spotlight. Professional spotlights for galleries and museums feature the flexibility of changing the light distribution without tools. This means that in no time at all, a luminaire with framing functionality is transformed into a spotlight with round light distribution – and vice versa.

Framing – more flexible than ever before

Those responsible in galleries and museums have always felt the need for flexible exhibition lighting. Contemporary lighting designers on the other hand need the greatest possible planning security. Eclipse contour spotlights bring together these requirements. The advantages for users: 

-        Future-proof owing to interchangeable light distributions
-        Special light distributions for short and long distances
-        Perfect rendering of colours due to a wide selection of light spectra
-        Flexible use with tunable white and RGBW
-        Sizes and lumen packages to match the exhibit
-        Simple handling

The framing attachment is available with the spotlight itself and as a separate accessory. This simply transforms the Eclipse spotlight into a fully-fledged framer. Exhibition organisers can use two different light distributions: wide framing to illuminate large pictures from a short distance, and narrow framing for small pictures from a long distance. The double projection lens of the wide framing distribution generates a very small focal distance and thus a projection image up to three times larger than other contour spotlights.

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The right framer for every exhibit

Even large works of art can be illuminated with just one or a few spotlights. Eclipse is available in three sizes with LED modules from 3W and 279lm up to 37W and 3920lm. The 48V version enables exciting framing effects to also be created with a miniaturised low voltage system. The track that has already been installed can simply be reused, with a distance to the wall of about one-third of the room height.

Completely new possibilities for displaying exhibitions

Perfect framing has never been so easy even at close range. With the size 'M' Eclipse contour spotlight, a picture with a width of 1.40m is easily illuminated from a distance of 2m. A high illuminance is achieved, while at the same time, less wattage and luminaires are required.

With tunable white, designers and curators can adapt the light spectrum to the exhibit. With RGBW, scenographic lighting concepts with up to 16 million colours can be created – and simply controlled with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Operating the slide controls is intuitive and allows square or rectangular lighting areas to be set with precision. The framing attachment can be infinitely adjusted with just one hand. Disturbing light reflections are completely avoided by the closed, light-tight housing of the Eclipse Framer.

Learn more about the new possibilities for the perfect display of paintings and discover the Eclipse contour spotlights:www.erco.com/framing

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