chiaroscuro

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the technique in painting, drawing, and printmaking of using strong contrasts between light and shadow to model three-dimensional form, create dramatic atmosphere, and direct the viewer's attention; from the Italian for light-dark, chiaroscuro was developed systematically by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael and brought to its most dramatic expression in the work of Caravaggio, whose tenebrism — extreme darkness punctuated by intense illumination — became the defining visual language of the Baroque; chiaroscuro translated into printmaking through the woodcut and engraving traditions of Dürer and Rembrandt, and the principle of dramatic light-dark contrast continues to influence photography, cinema, and graphic design