What does «claroscuro» mean in Spanish?
- Convenient distribution of light and shadow in a pictorial work. It implies the presence of light and color in every shadow and the presence of shadow and color in every light. The realization of a classically balanced color composition depends to a great extent on the painter's idea - however instinctive - of chiaroscuro. The dynamic proportion of masses of color in the art of many Renaissance painters (e.g. Titian; Giorgione) was based on the composition of light and shade. Caravaggio modeled his figures clearly with light and shadow (see Caravaggio, Michelangelo).