Italian 'chiaro' (bright) + 'oscuro' (dark) — the art of making light emerge from darkness, named by joining opposites.
The treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting; the use of strong contrasts between light and dark to create a sense of volume, depth, and dramatic atmosphere.
From Italian 'chiaroscuro,' a compound of 'chiaro' (clear, light, bright) and 'oscuro' (dark, obscure). Italian 'chiaro' descends from Latin 'clārus' (clear, bright, famous), from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₁- (to call, shout — brightness as that which calls attention). Italian 'oscuro' descends from Latin 'obscūrus' (dark, hidden, unclear), composed of 'ob-' (over, against
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