Definition of "chiaroscuro"

chiaroscuro

/kɪˌɑːɹəˈskʊəɹəʊ/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural chiaroscuros or chiaroscuri
1. (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.
2. (painting) A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color.
3. (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.
4. (photography) A photographic technique in which one side of the subject, for example a face, is well lit and the other is in shadow.
adjective
comparative more chiaroscuro, superlative most chiaroscuro
1. (figuratively) Possessing the qualities of a work of chiaroscuro.
  Quotations
  It has been a very chiaroscuro day—lots of sunlight and shadow.
  1913, The Saturday Evening Post - Volume 185, Issue 7, page 21
  It is cruder than the others, more graphic, less chiaroscuro.
  1962, Charles Neider, The frozen sea: a study of Franz Kafka, page 90
  A somewhat " chiaroscuro " effect, which imparts a strong feeling of rotundity to the bronze helmet, is achieved by the artist's bold use of broad hatching along its upper contours.
  1970, Archeologia classica - Volumes 22-23, page 56
  'Rome's a very chiaroscuro city, I've always thought,' said Tom Richardson eventually, sensing that the lull in the conversation was going to be a protracted one.
  1983 -, Max Davidson, The Wolf, page 68
  I heard them discussing painting, and the two pictures Veronique had purchased from Allegra's sale: a haunting nude, very chiaroscuro, and another — more colorful and enigmatic — of a woman before a screen, holding an Oriental mask.
  1984, Francesca Stanfill, Shadows and light
  To minimize the problem, we used dark skies, very chiaroscuro lighting, and decided that the whole film would take place at night."
  1993, American Cinematographer - Volume 74, page 55
  HP, however, preferred the more chiaroscuro quality of the original CD.
  1994, The Absolute Sound - Volume 19, Issues 95-98, page 111
  A very chiaroscuro sort of man he was, arm on balcony, staring down into the dusty street below.
  1995, Frank Waters, The Lizard Woman, page 3
  At times the image is so chiaroscuro as to be nearly illegible, such that one can only imagine the discussions between Lang and the Technicolor advisors.
  2007, Gerd Gemünden, Mary R. Desjardins, Dietrich Icon, page 265
  The shooting bright light from the outside contrasted sharply from the coal black shadows of the interior giving the compound a very chiaroscuro quality.
  2017, P.L. Hawks, I Love Paris