chiaroscuro

[kee-ahr-uh-skyoo r-oh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chiaroscuro ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural chi·a·ro·scu·ros.

the distribution of light and shade in a picture.

Painting. the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect: Rembrandt is a master of chiaroscuro.

a woodcut print in which the colors are produced by the use of different blocks with different colors.

a sketch in light and shade.

Origin of chiaroscuro

1680–90; < Italian, equivalent to chiaro bright (< Latin clārus) + oscuro dark (< Latin obscūrus). See clear, obscure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chiaroscuro

shadowy, shaded, leafy, cloudy, cool, dim, dusky, indistinct, sheltered, vague, screened, umbrageous, adumbral, bosky, shadowed

Examples from the Web for chiaroscuro

Contemporary Examples of chiaroscuro

This chiaroscuro portrait, intended only to sell underwear, comes alarmingly close to capturing the man.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up
Tom Boswell
September 27, 2014

Historical Examples of chiaroscuro

No chiaroscuro is so difficult as this; and none so noble, chaste, or impressive.
Modern Painters Volume I (of V)
John Ruskin
I was in train to interpret for Ma'moiselle the chiaroscuro.
The Pigeon (Third Series Plays)
John Galsworthy
In chiaroscuro, and in delicacy of execution he is not inferior to his master.
Six Centuries of Painting
Randall Davies
Thus they were familiar with chiaroscuro before the European painters.
Chinese Painters
Raphael Petrucci
The typical German chiaroscuro was therefore from two blocks.
John Baptist Jackson
Jacob Kainen

British Dictionary definitions for chiaroscuro

chiaroscuro

noun plural -ros

the artistic distribution of light and dark masses in a picture

monochrome painting using light and dark only, as in grisaille

Derived Formschiaroscurist, nounchiaroscurism, noun

Word Origin for chiaroscuro

C17: from Italian, from chiaro clear + oscuro obscure

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chiaroscuro

1680s, "disposition of light and dark in a picture," literally "bright-dark," from Italian chiaro "clear, bright" (from Latin clarus; see clear (adj.)) + oscuro (from Latin obscurus; see obscure (adj.)). Related: Chiaroscurist.