Chiaroscuro
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In art, chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the
Giovanni Baglione. Divine Love Conquering Earthly Love (1602–1603), showing dramatic compositional chiaroscuro.
Christ at Rest, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1519, a chiaroscuro drawing using pen, ink, and brush, washes, white heightening, on ochre prepared paper
Detail of La Fornarina (1518–19) by Raphael, shows delicate modelling chiaroscuro in the body of the model, for example in the shoulder, breast, and arm on the right
Chiaroscuro woodcut of the Virgin and Child by Bartolommeo Coriolano, created between 1630 and 1655 (digitally restored)
Sfumato
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Sfumato is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. It is one of the canonical painting
Chiaroscuro
…period but is most notably associated with Baroque art. Chiaroscuro is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissance (alongside cangiante, sfumato and unione) (see also Renaissance art). Artists known for using the technique include Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Goya, and…
Detail of the face of Mona Lisa showing the use of sfumato, particularly in the shading around the eyes.
Madonna del Prato (Raphael)