Chiaroscuro (noun)
kee-aro-scoo-ro
The distribution of light and shade in a picture.
Chiaroscuro was first recorded in English between 1680–90, and comes from Italian and is composed of chiaro, meaning “bright,” and oscuro, meaning “dark.”
From chiaro comes the English word clear, “free from darkness; light,” and from oscuro comes obscure, “not clear” or “lacking in light.”
Example sentences
“The photograph captured the beautiful chiaroscuro of the sunset across the mountains.”
