Chiaroscuro (English pronunciation: /kiˌɑːrəˈskjʊəroʊ/, Italian: [kjarosˈkuːro] "light-dark") in art 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".
Further specialized uses include chiaroscuro woodcut, for colored woodcuts printed with different blocks, each using a different coloured ink; and c...
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Chiaroscuro (English pronunciation: /kiˌɑːrəˈskjʊəroʊ/, Italian: [kjarosˈkuːro] "light-dark") in art 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".
Further specialized uses include chiaroscuro woodcut, for colored woodcuts printed with different blocks, each using a different coloured ink; and chiaroscuro drawing for drawings on colored paper with drawing in a dark medium and white highlighting. Similar effects in the lighting of cinema and photography are also chiaroscuro.
Chiaroscuro originated during the Renaissance as drawing on coloured paper, where the artist worked from the paper's base tone towards light using white gouache, and towards dark using ink, bodycolour or watercolour. These in turn drew on traditions in illuminated manuscripts, going back to late Roman Imperial manuscripts on purple-dyed vellum. Such works used to...
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