chiaroscuro

noun

1. (countable, 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, 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.

adj

1. (figuratively)Possessing the qualities of a work of chiaroscuro.

   “It has been a very chiaroscuro day—lots of sunlight and shadow.”

   “It is cruder than the others, more graphic, less chiaroscuro.”

   “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.”

   “'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.”

   “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.”