Chiaroscuro
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /kɪˌɑːɹəˈskʊəɹəʊ/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Chiaroscuro is a noun meaning (painting) A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color.
Meaning
(painting) A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color.
More Meanings
- (photography) A photographic technique in which one side of the subject, for example a face, is well lit and the other is in shadow.
- (figuratively) Possessing the qualities of a work of chiaroscuro.
- (painting) An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the use of strong contrasts between light and dark in order to create the illusion of volume.
- (art) A woodcut technique in which several woodcut blocks are used to print different shades of a color, or a woodcut print made by this technique.
Example Sentences
It is cruder than the others, more graphic, less chiaroscuro.
It has been a very chiaroscuro day—lots of sunlight and shadow.
HP, however, preferred the more chiaroscuro quality of the original CD.
A very chiaroscuro sort of man he was, arm on balcony, staring down into the dusty street below.
Word Forms
- chiaroscuros
- chiaroscuri
- chiaro-oscuro
- chiaro-scuro
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include tenebrism, light, sfumato, tonalism, luminism, lightscape.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.