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Art & Art History vocabulary · Visual Elements & Composition

Chiaroscuro

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/kiˌɑːrəˈskʊroʊ/nounCommon term

In art & art history, chiaroscuro means: The use of strong contrasts between light and dark to make figures look three-dimensional and to create drama; the word is Italian for ‘light-dark’.

In Turkish: ışık-gölge, kiyaroskuro, klarobskür

How it is used

Closely associated with Leonardo, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. A very extreme form, in which figures emerge from deep darkness, is called tenebrism. Used in essays and on labels: dramatic chiaroscuro, a master of chiaroscuro.

Example sentences

  1. Caravaggio's chiaroscuro makes the figures seem to step out of the darkness.

  2. Use chiaroscuro in your still life drawing to make the apples look round.

Common collocations

  • dramatic chiaroscuro
  • strong chiaroscuro
  • master of chiaroscuro
  • chiaroscuro effect
  • contrastA strong difference between two parts of an artwork, such as light and dark, warm and cool colours, or rough and smooth surfaces.
  • BaroqueThe style of European art and architecture from about 1600 to 1750, known for drama, movement, strong light and emotion, as in the work of Caravaggio, Rubens and Bernini.
  • RenaissanceThe period in European history, roughly from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, when art and learning were renewed by a strong interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture.
  • drawingA picture made mainly with lines, using a pencil, pen, charcoal or chalk; also the skill or activity of making such pictures.

More terms: Visual Elements & Composition

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