chiaroscuro
noun·/kiˌɑːr.əˈskjʊr.oʊ/
The dramatic opposition of light and dark in visual art, modeling form by contrast so that illumination becomes a kind of narrative (art). In chiaroscuro, darkness is not absence but design.
In the portrait’s chiaroscuro, half the face seemed confessed to the light while the other half kept its secrets.
Etymology
From Italian chiaro “clear, light” + oscuro “dark.” The term names a technique and, more subtly, a worldview: that meaning often lives in what is withheld as much as in what is shown.
Related Words
tenebrisman intensified style of stark darkness and spotlight
modelingthe rendering of three-dimensional form on a flat surface
contrastthe governing principle
grisaillepainting in grays; another way of sculpting with value