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Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is an Italian term which translates as light-dark, and refers to the balance and pattern of light and shade in a painting or drawing

Joseph Wright of Derby
*An Iron Forge* (1772)
Tate

Chiaroscuro is generally only remarked upon when it is a particularly prominent feature of the work, usually when the artist is using extreme contrasts of light and shade.

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Selected artworks in the collection

Left Right

Interior, Sunlight on the Floor
Vilhelm Hammershoi
1906
Self-Portrait
Sir Stanley Spencer
1913
Portrait of the Artist
Daniel Stringer
1776
Vignette: Hampstead Heath, Middlesex
John Constable, David Lucas
1831 or 2

View by appointment
Back Drawing
Juan Muñoz
1990
Dunstanburgh Castle from the South
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1797–8

View by appointment

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Chiaroscuro

Selected artworks in the collection

Interior, Sunlight on the Floor

Self-Portrait

Portrait of the Artist

Vignette: Hampstead Heath, Middlesex

Back Drawing

Dunstanburgh Castle from the South

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