Detail of a bearded man in a dark hat, his face partly shadowed, resting one hand on a pale bust that catches the light.

Concept · Light in Painting

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro, Italian for "light-dark", is the balance and pattern of light and shade that models forms.

Lit and shadowed parts are arranged into one design; the turns between them can be gradual or abrupt.

  • The word also names drawings and prints made in light and dark tones.

See

Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Public Domain (Met Open Access)

40 / 51