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What is chiaroscuro? (video) | Start here | Khan Academy? ›

Chiaroscuro, or light and dark, is a key technique for creating realistic art. It involves transitioning from light to dark to give the illusion of volume and mass.

The word chiaroscuro is Italian for light and shadow. It's one of the classic techniques used in the works of artists like Rembrandt, da Vinci, and Caravaggio. It refers to the use of light and shadow to create the illusion of light from a specific source shining on the figures and objects in the painting.

History of Chiaroscuro

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Renaissance masters began to try and improve on earlier shading techniques. One artist to adopt the chiaroscuro style was Leonardo da Vinci. Starting with dark, brown-tinted paper, he achieved dimension in his drawings by going from dark to light tones.

chiaroscuro, (from Italian chiaro, “light,” and scuro, “dark”), technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects.

Chiaroscuro is both an artistic technique and a storytelling device; it stages drama, creates depth, and shapes spaces—applying meaning to objects and environments.

This is an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted.

Include all five areas of chiaroscuro: highlight, halftone, deep shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow.

The chiaroscuro method uses five defined values: cast shadow, reflected light, core shadow, light, and: Highlight. In Chiaroscuro method, highlight refers to the technique to distinguish certain areas in the art so the viewer could pay more attention to the point that the artist wanted to conveys.

While history writes that one of the first to use this technique was Duccio di Buonisegna in the "Rucellai Madonna" in the 1200's, to me the father of Chiaroscuro, the person who took it to a new dimension is a painter named Michelangelo Merisi known more famously as Caravaggio.

Chiaroscuro is now commonly used in film to create a shadowy mood and to build suspense.

Who are the artists who use chiaroscuro? ›

Chiaroscuro is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissance (alongside cangiante, sfumato and unione) (see also Renaissance art). Artists known for using the technique include Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Goya, and Georges de La Tour.

chiaroscuro in American English

1. light and shade in a painting, drawing, etc. treated so as to produce the illusion of depth, a dramatic effect, etc.

Chiaroscuro is the use of contrast between light and dark to emphasize and illuminate important figures in a painting or drawing. It was first introduced during the Renaissance. It was originally used while drawing on colored paper though it is now used in paintings and even cinema.

: pictorial representation in terms of light and shade without regard to color. 2. a. : the arrangement or treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art. The artist uses chiaroscuro to create the perception of depth in a two-dimensional work.

Chiaroscuro originated as a concept in Renaissance art to describe the handling of light and dark contrasts. It continues as a fundamental concept in representational art, photography, and cinema, particularly where light and shadow are used to create a dramatic or theatrical effect.

Chiaroscuro is a high-contrast lighting technique that utilises a low-key lighting setup to achieve contrast between the subject and a dark background.

The grandeur of the Renaissance was mirrored by its equally lush style of artwork, out from which evolutions in drama and depth were innovatively conveyed. The era's artists accomplished this through new techniques centered upon the manipulation of light and dark, the father of which was chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro is used in cinematography for extreme low key and high-contrast lighting to create distinct areas of light and darkness in films, especially in black and white films.