Jessica Crabtree

Chiaroscuro is one of the most important and fundamental techniques in art, particularly in any style that makes use of realism. The textbook definition for chiaroscuro (Italian for “light-dark“) is simply the use of value (shading) to create an illusion of depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface. More commonly, it refers to the use of strong contrast or unusual lighting to create a strong dramatic effect.

A painting or drawing, even if it is proportionally correct, looks flat and lifeless without shading. Chiaroscuro is an essential element, especially in portraits and still life, where it is not only functional – giving the shapes depth and definition – but a potentially explosive means of conveying drama and emotion.

The basis of chiaroscuro stems from the observation of the way light behaves on surfaces. By reproducing this behavior accurately on paper or canvas, you can create an image that is visually authentic to the eye of the viewer. We all have an intuitive grasp of how light interacts with the world around us – for instance, we all expect to see an area of brightness where light reflects off an object, or a patch of shadow where light is blocked. But light sometimes behaves in more subtle ways of which we aren’t always conscious. The artist can take advantage of these subtleties to create a convincing chiaroscuro effect.

Image: University of Evansville

Adding the dimension of color creates a whole new set of complexities in working with chiaroscuro. Because the level of intensity in the lighting changes the way we perceive a given hue, color chiaroscuro is more challenging for artists to work with than just black and white or gray-scale (more on light and color here). But black and white is the best way to learn chiaroscuro, since it illustrates how powerful a tool it is even in the absence of color. With a little study, it is a simple and effective application of the comparatively difficult science of optical physics.

Chiaroscuro first came to prominent use during the Italian Renaissance. An especially popular form known as tenebrism, pioneered by painters such as Caravaggio, used exaggerated lighting contrast for heightened effect. This was a favorite style of painters like Rembrandt and El Greco and heavily influenced later styles of painting in the 19th and 20th centuries.

It is interesting to note that many of the famed artists who made the strongest use of chiaroscuro were also great draftsmen, having first mastered the use of shading through drawings in mediums such as pencil or silverpoint.

Rembrandt, The Philosopher in Meditation

More on this subject:

Chiaroscuro in Painting: The Power of Light and Dark – illustrated article from Empty Easel

WebExhibits: Color Vision & Art – fully interactive, with lots more on the history of contrast & color in art

HINTS OF COLOR: Light & Color

“Color My World”

Red, yellow, and blue are considered the primary colors. They are equally spaced from each other in the spectrum – and hence in the color wheel. They combine to form white light (which represents all colors). And they can blend together in various combinations to form every other possible hue. The first three levels of color combinations fall into the following groups:

Primary Colors – Red, Yellow, Blue, that combine to form all the other colors
Secondary Colors – Orange (Red + Yellow), Green (Yellow + Blue), Violet (Blue + Red)
Tertiary Colors – Combinations of secondary colors – such as blue-green or red-orange

An example of how primary colors combine to form white light

If an artist was restricted to using only hues, however, his paintings would probably look more like something done with a first-grader’s crayon set. This is because the colors or light signatures in the spectrum can’t represent realism without the variation of light. Remember, artists don’t paint so much with color as they do with light – because the appearance of the things they portray with pigments is based entirely on the interaction of light with a given surface. This is why we have shades, tones, and tints (see my last post about Birren’s triangle).

Color wheel showing primary and secondary colors

This is a fascinating site about the physical properties of light and the causes of color. Some of it’s quite technical – but the webpage is beautifully done and worth seeing at least on that account!

Click the screenshot below to enter.

Birren’s color model is a useful extension of the color wheel, because it deals with color in terms we relate to pigments such as paint or chalk. More importantly, it includes a vocabulary for expressing different shades of meaning (no pun intended!) concerning the technical side of color. Most of these terms are used interchangeably on an everyday basis; but when used for their actual intended purpose they can be a valuable communication tool for the artist.

For instance:

• A hue is a particular wavelength of light on the spectrum (or color wheel); otherwise “color” – but more precise.
• A tint is a hue blended with white; if red is the hue in question, hot pink might be a resulting tint.
• A shade is a hue combined with black: i.e., crimson is a darker shade of red.
• A tone is a hue that has been desaturated, or diluted with both black and white (that is, gray), making the original color seem “muddied.”

Birren Color Triangle

It’s interesting to note that specific art eras, or even individual artists, can be classified by their signature range within the color triangle. Paintings in which tints predominate tend to be bright, airy, and imaginative. Tones are good at portraying gloomy, mysterious, or atmospheric subjects, while a tendency towards shades provides intensity and drama.

(Thanks to wetcanvas.com for the graphic.)

Making Waves

It turns out the secret of color is all in the waves – light waves, that is. Light, like matter, is made up of tiny particles – but unlike matter these are not atoms or molecules but tiny packets of energy called photons. Oddly, light has a dual nature that makes it behave both like matter (because it is made of particles) and like wave energy, such as vibration or sound. All of the properties of light most familiar to us – including color – come from this wave aspect. All of the colors we see are produced by the varying height and depth of light wavelengths and the speed at which they happen to be traveling.

Human beings have a limited range of perception, so we can only see a narrow range of light energy to interpret as “color.” This range is known as visible light. These colors are arranged in a band known as a spectrum, with each color – just like an FM radio station – sorted by its wavelength and frequency.

Newton and the Prism

(continue reading…)

For all its splendor, color is merely an illusion.

Technically, it’s how our brains interpret a narrow range of light wavelengths as reflected by objects based on their atomic properties. However complicated (and unglamorous) that may sound, the artist can take advantage of the fact that color is something we experience and use it to create an intense and powerful method of communication.

Most people tend to think of color as an absolute property – the sky is blue, an apple is red, paper is white, etc. But there is no such thing as a “default color,” because color itself is an optical illusion and the appearance of a given surface varies greatly. No one is more keenly aware of this dilemma – and its potential – than the artist.

Take an eye for example: the white of your eye may properly be white, but it rarely if ever appears so. Under any kind of shadow it will appear gray or blue. (continue reading…)