chiaroscuro
UK/kɪˌɑːɹəˈskʊəɹəʊ/US/ˌkjɑɹəˈsk(j)ʊɹoʊ/
chiaroscuro noun: 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.
Noun
chiaroscuro (countable and uncountable, plural chiaroscuros or chiaroscuri)
- 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.
- A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color.
- 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.
- A photographic technique in which one side of the subject, for example a face, is well lit and the other is in shadow.
- Synonyms:
- Rembrandt lighting
Adjective
chiaroscuro (comparative more chiaroscuro, superlative most chiaroscuro)
- Possessing the qualities of a work of chiaroscuro.
- 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
chiaroscuro meaning in Tamil, Tagalog, Arabic and Persian
chiaroscuro in Tamil
- artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts
- சியாரோஸ்கியூரோ ciyārōskiyūrō
chiaroscuro in Tagalog
- artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts
- klaroskuro
chiaroscuro in Arabic
- artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts
- اَلْجَلْاَء وَاَلْقُتْمَة al-jalaʔ waalqutma
chiaroscuro in Persian
- artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts
- سایهروشن sâye-rowšan, کیاروسکورو kiyâroskuro
More languagesFewer languages
- chiaroscuro in Thai
- ค่าต่างแสง kâa-dtàang-sɛ̌ɛng
Examples of chiaroscuro in a sentence
- 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:
- 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:
Synonyms of chiaroscuro
Forms of chiaroscuro
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | chiaroscuros |
| plural | chiaroscuri |
| alternative form (archaic) | chiaro-oscuro |
| alternative form (archaic) | claro-obscuro |
| alternative form (obsolete) | chiaro-scuro |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more chiaroscuro |
| superlative | most chiaroscuro |
Origin of chiaroscuro
First attested in the mid-17th century, borrowed from Italian chiaroscuro, from chiaro (“clear, bright”) + oscuro (“dark, obscure”).
Words formed from chiaroscuro
Words that rhyme with chiaroscuro
Questions about chiaroscuro
- What does chiaroscuro mean?
- Chiaroscuro means 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.
- What is chiaroscuro in Tamil?
- Chiaroscuro in Tamil is சியாரோஸ்கியூரோ (ciyārōskiyūrō). See Chiaroscuro meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use chiaroscuro in a sentence?
- 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.
- What part of speech is chiaroscuro?
- Chiaroscuro can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce chiaroscuro?
- Chiaroscuro is pronounced /kɪˌɑːɹəˈskʊəɹəʊ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of chiaroscuro?
- The plural of chiaroscuro is chiaroscuros.
Words near chiaroscuro in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: chiaroscuro (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-ca-chiaroscuro.ogg.
Cite this entry: “chiaroscuro.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/chiaroscuro. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.