You should define something like the following.
<security:http auto-config='true'>
<security:intercept-url pattern="/images/style/**" filters="none" />
<security:intercept-url pattern="/login*" access="IS_AUTHENTICATED_ANONYMOUSLY" />
<security:intercept-url pattern="/**" access="ROLE_USER" />
<security:http-basic/>
<security:form-login login-page='/login' authentication-failure-url="/login?authfailed=true"/>
<security:logout />
</security:http>
IS_AUTHENTICATED_ANONYMOUSLY
is needed to allow access to login page. The first line allows access to images folder without authentication at all. This is just an example.
For more details take a look on spring documentation mentioned by @nico_ekito.