Dictionary

chiaroscuro en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Canada) audio
• /kɪˌɑːɹəˈskʊəɹəʊ/ (UK)
• /ˌkjɑɹəˈsk(j)ʊɹoʊ/ (US)

Etymology

First attested in the mid-17th century, borrowed from Italian chiaroscuro, from chiaro (“clear, bright”) + oscuro (“dark, obscure”).

Meanings

1. (figuratively) Possessing the qualities of a work of chiaroscuro.
   • 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:
   • 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:
   • 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:
   • It has been a very chiaroscuro day—lots of sunlight and shadow. 1913, The Saturday Evening Post - Volume 185, Issue 7, page 21:
   • 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:
   • Overhead lights swung wildly around the hole that it had burned through the ceiling. The very walls were warping from heat near the craft, metal panels peeling apart and some of the exposed wiring smoldering or outright aflame. Heat-waves rippled around the room’s camera array, and the white-hot gas that curled up from underneath the shuttle made shadows in the darkened, fiery chamber flicker in stark chiaroscuro. 2017 November, N. K. Jemisin, Mac Walters, chapter 15, in Mass Effect Andromeda: Initiation, 1st edition (Science Fiction), Titan Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 275:
   • 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:
   • '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:
   • It is cruder than the others, more graphic, less chiaroscuro. 1962, Charles Neider, The frozen sea: a study of Franz Kafka, page 90:

Forms

chiaroscuro en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Canada) audio
• /kɪˌɑːɹəˈskʊəɹəʊ/ (UK)
• /ˌkjɑɹəˈsk(j)ʊɹoʊ/ (US)

Etymology

First attested in the mid-17th century, borrowed from Italian chiaroscuro, from chiaro (“clear, bright”) + oscuro (“dark, obscure”).

Meanings

1. (countable, qualifier:painting, uncountable) 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. (countable, qualifier:painting, uncountable) A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color.
3. (countable, uncountable) 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. (countable, uncountable) A photographic technique in which one side of the subject, for example a face, is well lit and the other is in shadow.

Forms

Coordinates

contrast

Deriveds

chiaroscurist · chiaroscuroed

Synonyms

Rembrandt lighting

Translations (73)

no clair-obscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · fr clair-obscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · sh киароскуро (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · de Helldunkelmalerei (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ko 명암법 (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · cs šerosvit (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ar اَلْجَلْاَء وَاَلْقُتْمَة (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ro clar-obscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · io klar-obskuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ia clar·obscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · oc clarescur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · tk ýagtylyk-kölege (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · sl chiaroscúro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · cmn 明暗對照法 /明暗对照法 (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · sv ljusdunkel (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ja 明暗法 (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ru кьяроску́ро (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · pt chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ru светоте́нь (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · tr ışık gölge (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · pl światłocień (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · kmr rohn û tarîtî (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · he קִיָארוֹסְקוּרוֹ (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ga gealdorcha (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · gl clarescuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · bg све́тлося́нка (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · nl clair-obscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · el φωτοσκίαση (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · el σκιοφωτισμός (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · sv clairobscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · de Chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ia clarobscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · it chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ast clarescuru (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · no kjellerlys (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · pl chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · sh kjaroskuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · pt claro-escuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · pms ciàir-ëscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · br sklaer-ha-teñval (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ja 陰影法 (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ga chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · lt kiaroskuras (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · fi chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · fi valohämy (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ka შუქჩრდილი (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ca clarobscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · uk світлоті́нь (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ta சியாரோஸ்கியூரோ (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · fa سایهروشن (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · th ค่าต่างแสง (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · eu argi-ilun (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · fur clâr e scûr (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · sv klärobskyr (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · tr aşık koyu (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · br sklêrijenn deñval (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · el κιαροσκούρο (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · eo klaroskuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · fa کیاروسکورو (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ro clarobscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ko 키아로스쿠로 (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · kk сәуле мен көлеңке (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · hy լուսաստվեր (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · br chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · de Clair-obscur (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · be святлаце́нь (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · no chiaroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · es claroscuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · tg рӯшноию тирагӣ (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · tl klaroskuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · pt fuscalvo (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · ja キアロスクーロ (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts) · eo klarobskuro (artistic technique using exaggerated light contrasts)