clair-obscure

Or clare-ob·scure

[klair-uhb-skyoor]

noun

1. chiaroscuro.

clair-obscure

/ ˌklɛərəbˈskjʊə /

noun

1. another word for chiaroscuro

Word History and Origins

Origin of clair-obscure¹

1710–20; < French, translation of Italian chiaroscuro chiaroscuro; clear, obscure

Word History and Origins

Origin of clair-obscure¹

C18: from French, literally: clear-obscure

Example Sentences

He doubted whether he was not moonstruck, chasing a phantom made of the clair-obscure stuff of those dead hours of the night when dreams are rife in the world, and ghosts leer through the haunted chambers of the brain.

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The art of clair-obscure, therefore, teaches the painter the disposition and arrangement in general of his lights and darks, with all their degrees, extreme and intermediate, of tint and shade, both in single objects, as the parts of a picture, and in combination as one whole, so as to produce the best representation possible in the best manner possible; that is, so as to produce the most desirable effect upon the senses and spirit of the observers.

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Some ten minutes later Julius March, after kneeling in prayer, as his custom was, before the divinely sorrowful and compassionate image of the Virgin Mother and the Dead Christ, looked forth through the many-paned study window into the clair-obscure of the windless autumn night.

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Queen Marie Christine of Sweden represented in a very noble situation of body and tranquility of mind, of a fine verity and a high effect of clair-obscure.

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He halted a moment, dazzled by the warmth and light within after the clair-obscure of the frosty dusk without, and looked round the room before recognizing the identity of its remaining occupant.

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