Chiaroscuro in the Series of Books Titled the Art of Drawing Published by Search Press, Giovanni Civardi's Drawing Light &
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Chiaroscuro In the series of books titled The Art of Drawing published by Search Press, Giovanni Civardi’s Drawing Light & Shade: Understanding Chiaroscuro discusses the application of this technique. Civardi says that “[c]hiaroscuro generally refers to the graduating tones, from light to dark, in a work of art, and the artist’s skill in using this technique to represent volume and mood” (Civardi, p. 3). Essentially, artists use chiaroscuro to show the contrast between light and dark areas in a composition “to suggest form in relation to a light source” (p. 3). The term chiaroscuro originated during the European Renaissance and artists developed the technique in various ways such as through composition, mood, and to show volume (p. 3; Harvard Art Museum glossary). For instance, chiaroscuro can be found in different kinds of art forms that include drawing, woodcuts, painting, photography, and in cinema (Hall; Landau and Parshall; Civardi). Within a compositional sense, Geertgen tot Sint Jans’s Nativity at Night (1490) is an example of establishing light sources within a painting (Earls; Hall). Ugo da Carpi, Giovanni Baglione, and Caravaggio developed the use of an unseen light source as part of the composition in their work (Earls; Hall). Caravaggio is accredited with developing the style which became known as tenebrism. This particular style stresses the intense contrast between light and dark where darkness is in prominence (Fichner-Rathus; Buser). In drawing and sketching, artists use pencil, charcoal, paint, ink, or a computer to create the effect of volume by establishing one or more light sources. In Drawing Light & Shade: Understanding Chiaroscuro, Civardi effectively explains form and cast shadow with a light source, the penumbra line “around the outer edge of the cast shadow [where] the darkness is less intense,” the shadow line, form shadow, the penumbra, cast shadow, and shadow line from the shadow cast by the object onto a surrounding surface (Civardi, pp. 4-10). Another element of chiaroscuro is the representation of reflected light within an object in order to express volume (p. 9). Tonal values are an important element in portraying “the overall effect of light and shade on a surface” (p. 16). In terms of pencil and ink drawings, artists use various forms of cross-hatching in order to achieve gradation in tone (p. 22). Within popular media, especially in the United States starting around the time of the Golden Age of comic books, artists have used various techniques of expressing the difference between light and dark in their artwork. References and further reading material Buser, T. (2006). Experiencing Art Around Us. Cengage Learning. p. 89. ISBN 0-534-64114-8. “Chiaroscuro.” Harvard Art Museum glossary (accessed 30 August 2007). See also Metropolitan external link Civardi, G. (2005). The Art of Drawing (series), Drawing Light & Shade: Understanding Chiaroscuro. Search Press. Earls, I. (1987). Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, Inc. Westport, CT. Earls, I. (2004). Artists of the Renaissance: Artists of an Era. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT: London. Fichner-Rathus, L. (January 2011). Foundations of Art and Design: An Enhanced Media Edition. Cengage Learning. p. 74. ISBN 1-111-77145-6. Hall, M. B. (1987). Color and Technique in Renaissance Painting: Italy and the North. J.J. Augustin. Hall, M. B. (1994). Color and Meaning: Practice and Theory in Renaissance Painting. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-45733-0. Hall, M. B., Rome (series “Artistic Centers of the Italian Renaissance”), pp.148-150, 2005, Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 0521624452, 9780521624459, google books Landau, D. & Parshall, P. The Renaissance Print, pp.180-84; Yale, 1996, ISBN 0-300-06883-2 - discusses these at length. Also see Metropolitan external link. Landau, D. & Parshall, P. 179-192; Renaissance Impressions: Chiaroscuro Woodcuts from the Collections of Georg Baselitz and the Albertina, Vienna, Royal Academy, London, March–June 2014, exhibition guide. .