No this is not a negative. This painting below is just the opposite in technique as the painting above. In this painting the shadows are not left clear, they are painted with a dark opaque Look how the light can dance around the silver cups in just average room light. This flash photo shows all the transparent colors. This plum always makes me feel good when I pass by.
Every angle lights up a different color.
The artist of the 1st century could turn tin into gold, so it was said. Behold a simple onion shimmer in the light. Pictura translucida was then and is now a painting technique using transparent and opaque pigments in tandem on a shinny metal support panel. This produces the most amazing dimensional effect with light. I see why this was called the most beautiful form of painting in the first century.