![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Michelangelo_Merisi%252C_called_Caravaggio_-_Saint_John_the_Baptist_in_the_Wilderness_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/640px-Michelangelo_Merisi%252C_called_Caravaggio_-_Saint_John_the_Baptist_in_the_Wilderness_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Tenebrism
Style of painting that uses strong contrasts of light and dark for dramatic effect / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tenebrism, from Italian tenebroso ("dark, gloomy, mysterious"), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image. The technique was developed to add drama to an image through a spotlight effect,[1] and is common in Baroque paintings. Tenebrism is used only to obtain a dramatic impact while chiaroscuro is a broader term, also covering the use of less extreme contrasts of light to enhance the illusion of three-dimensionality.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Michelangelo_Merisi%2C_called_Caravaggio_-_Saint_John_the_Baptist_in_the_Wilderness_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/640px-Michelangelo_Merisi%2C_called_Caravaggio_-_Saint_John_the_Baptist_in_the_Wilderness_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)