Tenebris light biography definition

Style of painting that uses strong contrasts of light and dark for dramatic effect

Tenebrism, from Italiantenebroso ('dark, gloomy, mysterious'), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image.

The technique was developed to add drama to an image through a spotlight effect,^[1] and is common in Baroque paintings. Tenebrism is used only to obtain a dramatic impact while chiaroscuro is a broader term, also covering the use of less extreme contrasts of light to enhance the illusion of three-dimensionality.

Baroque

The artist Caravaggio is generally credited with the invention of the style, although this technique was used by earlier artists such as Albrecht Dürer in his several self portraits, Tintoretto in his dramatic religious paintings such as The Miracle of St Mark, E Tenebrism – Definition, Examples, History & More – Art Theory ...

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