Main content
Course: Start here > Unit 2
Lesson 2: The language of art history- Naturalism, realism, abstraction and idealization
- Contrapposto explained
- What is foreshortening?
- What is chiaroscuro?
- How one-point linear perspective works
- What is atmospheric perspective?
- Classic, classical, and classicism explained
- The classical orders
- What is genre painting?
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
What is chiaroscuro?
Chiaroscuro, or light and dark, is a key technique for creating realistic art. It involves transitioning from light to dark to give the illusion of volume and mass. Titian's Venus of Urbino is a perfect example, where light and shadow define the figure and the folds in the cloth. This technique, also known as modeling, became popular during the Renaissance.
Want to join the conversation?
How does one create pretty folds in the fabric? It is almost photo realistic. I understand the use of shadow and light or modern artists call it shading. But it almost looks mathematical in the angles. I'm learning to draw and drawing the folds of fabric is the hardest thus far. Thanks for explaining the elements.(6 votes)
Drawing folds of fabric is definitely not easy. It's not really something you can draw from imagination, either -- to be believable, it needs to follow a realistic form. One method is to observe where the main lines/folds are in a piece of fabric, and draw them. Those lines won't look like much at first -- in fact, they may look kind of silly. But then you go back and carefully shade in each area between each pair of lines, and it starts to look like actual cloth. It takes much practice/patience/good observation/faith! Working with charcoal on paper is probably the easiest way to start, and also the most affordable.
By the way, the art term for folds in fabric is "drapery." You can research how to draw drapery online, and you'll probably find much useful information. Dr. Zucker & Dr. Harris often mention drapery in their videos, because the depiction of drapery is significant in the history of art.
Good luck to you in your artistic endeavors!(15 votes)
Is considerate a chiaroscuro technique what we see on old greco-roman paints?(8 votes)
When I think of Greek and Roman art, I think more about sculpture and building than I do paintings. I doubt that chiaroscuro was in mind when the Greeks or Romans created sculptures, they already had three dimensional relief. Greek and Roman painting looks flatter.
When I look at Greek pottery I don't see the level of shadow and volume to the figures that I do in "Titian" as they showed in this video at0:00:40 through0:01:10. Look at legs of Venus and the sheet again and compare it to Greek pottery as shown in other videos. I don't believe the Romans had the technique in mind either.(4 votes)
I watched both videos, what is foreshortening, and what is chiaroscuro, and they seem to be pretty much the same thing. What is the difference?(2 votes)
Chiaroscuro (English pronunciation: /kiˌɑːrəˈskjʊəroʊ/; Italian: [ˌkjaroˈskuːro] (light-dark)) is an oil painting technique, developed during the Renaissance, that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms, often to dramatic effect.[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro
Foreshortening also models three dimensional forms, but does so by reducing or distorting parts of the object in order to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space as perceived by the human eye: often done according to the rules of perspective.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/foreshortening(5 votes)
is this originally an Italian word?(2 votes)- From the author:Two Italian words actually, the words for bright and dark which is similar to the English work obscure, as in hidden(2 votes)
- Dear Khan academy - could you please turn off the default subtitles? Thank you so much!(0 votes)
- You turn these off yourself. The little icon that looks like a 'cc' at the bottom of the video performs this function. I hope that helps.(5 votes)
This was very informative for my art class! Bet i'll use it in class!(1 vote)
0:00Video transcript
(bright piano music) - [Beth] If you want your
painting or your drawing, to look realistic, to look naturalistic, to look like the observable world, then a technique that art
historians call modeling or chiaroscuro, is critical. - [Steven] Chiaroscuro
means simply light and dark. And what we're talking
about is the modulation or the transition from light to dark. When we look at a round object in space, parts of it will be more
brightly illuminated, and parts of it, especially
as they move away from us will be more in shade, and the ability to render that
on a two-dimensional surface on a canvas can create the
illusion of volume and mass, of a thing in space. - [Beth] And here we're looking
at Titian's Venus of Urbino, this lovely nude reclining
on a bed and we immediately get the sense that this is
a three-dimensional body. - [Steven] Look for
instance at her right thigh. It's bright at the top, but
as the knee turns, it turns to shadow. It doesn't do it sharply,
but as a result her shin seems to recede into space. - [Beth] Or we can even
follow the line of her thigh down toward the bed, and see how it moves from
brighter illumination into shadow. - [Steven] Now Titian
was able to achieve this with such delicacy because
he is using oil paint, which allows for a very
find modulation of tone. - [Beth] But we see this
with Renaissance artists going back for example, to Giotto, all the way through the artists
of the high Renaissance, the artists of the Venetian
Renaissance like Titian. - [Steven] If we looked back at earlier medieval representations in Italy, we would often see line
used to define the folds or the bunching of drapery. But here, if you look at
the sheet under the figure, you can see that he's
used only light and shadow to create the folds and
creases in that cloth. - [Beth] And that older
linear way of representing the three-dimensions of
drapery is not as naturalistic as this use of modeling or
chiaroscuro that we see in the Renaissance. - [Steven] And there you
have it, chiaroscuro. (bright piano music)