Exploring Chiaroscuro in my work

 Samson and Delilah (1609-1610)

In my latest work, i decided to explore a bit with the art of  chiaroscuro, it is found in the works of Early Renaissance painters such as Masaccio (1401-28) in works like The Holy Trinity (1428) and The Tribute Money (1426) as well as High Renaissance artists Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Raphael (1483-1520). Its definition as an art form comes from "the Italian word for "light-dark"; or the French "clair-obscur" which describes the prominent contrast of light and shade in a painting, drawing or print, and the skill demonstrated by the artist in the management of shadows to create the illusion of three-dimensional forms".[1]

 

To further explain this, the core principle is rooted in the concept that solidity of form is only detectable in the presence of light and if light emanates from a single source, it illuminates objects according to a specifically defined set of rules. In essence it describes how the artist depicts the 3-D illumination of objects thus creating the illusion of solid forms.

I find that as a principle in my work i tend to prefer the effective placement of light not just to highlight the hero and his surrounding but to also render certain areas dark and shadowed. It gives a sense of the natural environment we live in where light is more than likely usually emanating from one source which could either be the sun, a street light at night or a bulb in a room. These light sources are static and thus areas which are obscured do not see light and tend to be dark. This is the way light works around us and this is how i tend to want to create lighting in my work. 

This of course doesn't mean that I do not respect the 3,4,5-points light set-up theory and its practicality in design but except for the hero character and other key points in a scene that require illumination for their importance in telling a story, I tend to prefer a scene or lighting setup where areas of shadow are as strong as the areas of illumination. This may be partly a result of my background and where i come from. With limited electricity, nothing is ever completely illuminated and so there is always a strong interplay of light with darkness and in a way may also be influencing the kind of lighting i use in setting the mood for my scenes.

 Test Render from some of my Latest Work in Progress

Overall, I am most drawn to this form of depicting environments for its sense of depth and space. 

References

[1] Chiaroscuro, year unknown. Chiaroscuro in Painting: Definition, History, Tenebrism: Light-Dark Shading For Three-Dimensional Effect: Sfumato:. [online] Available at: <http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/painting/chiaroscuro.htm> [Accessed 25 November 2011 ].