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The Rise of Decorative Art and Dramatic Techniques (Chiaroscuro & Tenebrism)
In previous part we have discussed the Origins of oil painting. Now, we will discuss Chiaroscuro and Tenebrism. They are two very similar techniques used in relation to the treatment of light and dark within a composition. They are often confused or assumed to be the same thing due to how minimal the difference between them is.
Chiaroscuro, (from Italian chiaro, “light,” and scuro, “dark”), the technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects.
Some evidence exists that ancient Greek and Roman artists used chiaroscuro effects, but in European painting, the technique was first brought to its full potential by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th century in such paintings as his Adoration of the Magi (1481).
Thereafter, chiaroscuro became a primary technique for many painters, and by the late 17th century the term was routinely used to describe any painting, drawing, or print that depended on its effect on an extensive gradation of light and darkness.
In its most dramatic form—as in the works of those Italian artists of the 17th century who came under the influence of Caravaggio—it was known as tenebrismo, or tenebrism. Caravaggio and his followers used a harsh, dramatic light to isolate their figures and heighten their emotional tension. Another outstanding master of chiaroscuro was Rembrandt, who used it with remarkable psychological effect in his paintings, drawings, and etchings. Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, and many other, lesser painters of the Baroque period also used chiaroscuro to great effect. The delicacy and lightness of 18th-century Rococo painting represent a rejection of this dramatic use of chiaroscuro, but the technique again became popular with artists of the Romantic period, who relied upon it to create the emotive effects they considered essential to their art.
In graphic arts, the term chiaroscuro refers to a particular technique for making a woodcut print in which effects of light and shade are produced by printing each tone from a different wood block. The technique was first used in woodcuts in Italy in the 16th century, probably by the printmaker Ugo da Carpi. To make a chiaroscuro woodcut, the key block was inked with the darkest tone and printed first. Subsequent blocks were inked with progressively lighter tones and carefully measured to print in register with the key block. Chiaroscuro woodcuts are printed in only one color, brown, gray, green, and sepia being preferred. The process attempted to imitate wash and watercolor drawings and also became popular as an inexpensive method of reproducing paintings.
Tenebrism, in the history of Western painting, uses extreme contrasts of light and dark in figurative compositions to heighten their dramatic effect. (The term is derived from the Latin tenebrae, “darkness.”) In Tenebrist paintings, the figures are often portrayed against a background of intense darkness, but the figures themselves are illuminated by a bright, searching light that sets off their three-dimensional forms by a harsh but exquisitely controlled chiaroscuro. The technique was introduced by the Italian painter Caravaggio (1571–1610) and was taken up in the early 17th century by painters influenced by him, including the French painter Georges de La Tour, the Dutch painters Gerrit van Honthorst and Hendrik Terbrugghen, and the Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán.
Baroque Masters: Key Figures and Their Impact
Chiaroscuro and Tenebrism were developed in the Renaissance, but they remained popular for a long time. In fact, many of the most famous chiaroscuro artists were actually working in the Baroque period, which followed the Renaissance. These artists include:
Gerrit van Honthorst (1592-1656)was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname Gherardo delle Notti (“Gerard of the Nights”). Early in his career, he visited Rome, where he had great success painting in a style influenced by Caravaggio. Following his return to the Netherlands he became a leading portrait painter.
Georges de la Tour (1593-1652), a French painter-was a French Baroque painter, who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine [1][3]. He is best known for his candlelit scenes, which often featured religious or mythological subjects. He was an innovative painter, and his use of chiaroscuro and tenebrism made his work stand out from the works of other contemporary painters. He was heavily influenced by Caravaggio, and his works often featured light sources that illuminated the figures within them. His works have been highly acclaimed and are still held in high regard today.