A style of painting using dramatic, violent contrasts between light and deep darkness, with large areas of shadow dominating the composition.
From Latin 'tenebrae' (darkness). An extreme form of chiaroscuro, perfected by Caravaggio. Characters emerge from almost total darkness, lit by a single dramatic light source.
Caravaggio's paintings look like someone is holding a flashlight in a CAVE! Faces blaze out of pure darkness! Tenebrism is chiaroscuro turned up to ELEVEN! The Latin root means 'shadows' and Caravaggio OWNED them! 🔦🖤🎨
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.