The color rendering of a light source refers to its ability to reveal the colors of various objects faithfully (i.e. to produce illuminant metamerism) in comparison with an ideal or natural light source. Light sources with good color rendering are desirable in color-critical applications such as neonatal care[1] and art restoration. It is defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) as follows:[2]
Effect of an illuminant on the color appearance of objects by conscious or subconscious comparison with their color appearance under a reference illuminant.