Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation.
- noun The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art.
- noun A woodcut technique in which several blocks are used to print different shades of a color.
- noun A woodcut print made by this technique.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A style of painting on enameled pottery practised by the Italian potters.
- noun Light and shade; specifically, the general distribution of light and shade in a picture, whether painted, drawn, or engraved— that is, the combined effect of all its lights, shadows, and reflections. Strictly speaking, however, every object on which light strikes has its own chiaroscuro.
- noun A drawing in black and white.
- noun A method of printing engravings from several blocks representing lighter and darker shades, used especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; also, an engraving so printed.
- Of or pertaining to light and shade in painting, drawing, or engraving.
- Also clair-obscure, clare-obscure.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The arrangement of light and dark parts in a work of art, such as a drawing or painting, whether in monochrome or in color.
- noun The art or practice of so arranging the light and dark parts as to produce a harmonious effect. Cf.
clair-obscur .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun art An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the use of exaggerated light contrasts in order to create the illusion of volume.
- noun art A
monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color. - noun art The use of blocks of wood of different colors in a
woodcut . - noun photography A
photographic technique in which one side of a face (for example) is well lit and the other is in shadow.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Caravaggio's trademark "chiaroscuro" - dramatic dark-light contrasts - and revolutionary use of realism are explored at the Scuderie del Quirinale, an exhibition space created from former stables of Italy's presidential palace.
Homepage 2010
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"Self-Portrait In Barbecue Heaven" Dutch artist Pieter Johannes van Harmenszoon used the technique known as chiaroscuro, which features subtle gradations of light and shade for dramatic effect.
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This was written when I was still figuring out that whole linearity thing, and it's rather chiaroscuro, which is to say what's here is pretty good, but a great deal is left unstated.
there is a crack in everything. that's how the light gets in. ashacat 2008
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"Self-Portrait In Barbecue Heaven" Dutch artist Pieter Johannes van Harmenszoon used the technique known as chiaroscuro, which features subtle gradations of light and shade for dramatic effect.
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Gautier does not seem to mean this in any Cartesian sense but rather uses a literal form of the artistic term chiaroscuro as the basis of his explanation.
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Here he also met Count Antonio Maria Zanetti, who was well-known as a chiaroscuro woodcutter besides being a collector and patron of the arts.
John Baptist Jackson 18th-Century Master of the Color Woodcut Jacob Kainen
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This is the way in which the light and shadow are arranged, or what a critic would call the chiaroscuro of the picture.
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Neuwirth is drawn to people who at best can be described as chiaroscuro.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com David Finkle 2011
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Caravaggio pioneered the Baroque painting technique of contrasting light and dark known as chiaroscuro but was famous for his wild lifestyle - he is said to have killed a man in a brawl and fled Rome.
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Caravaggio pioneered the Baroque painting technique known as chiaroscuro, in which light and shadow are sharply contrasted and the discovery of his remains comes just days after a six month exhibition marking his death ended in Rome.
Home | Mail Online 2010
abraxaszugzwang commented on the word chiaroscuro
"In all senses also called claire-obscure."
February 25, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word chiaroscuro
I cannot help confusing this word with churrascuria--a type of South American restaurant specializing in churrasco (like a barbecue kind of place).
February 25, 2007
WanderlustDreamer commented on the word chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro is well used in Chapter XXII of "The Return of Dr Fu-Manchu" by Sax Rohmer.
March 3, 2015