SFUMATO and CHIAROSCURO
sfumato, noun (in painting) a gradual transition
between areas of different colour, avoiding sharp outlines
[ETYMOLOGY: from Italian, from sfumato shaded off, from sfumare to shade off,
from Latin ex-1 + fumare to smoke]
chiaroscuro, clair obscur, noun (plural: -ros)
1 the artistic distribution of light and dark masses in a picture
2 monochrome
painting using light and dark only, as in grisaille[ETYMOLOGY: 17th Century:
from Italian, from chiaro clear + oscuro obscure]
Da Vinci, The Virgin of the Rocks, 1482-1486. Oil on wood
TENEBRISM
Cravaggio, The Conversion of St-Paul, 1600-1601
Georges de La Tour, Magdalene with the Nightlight, c. 1642-44. Oil on canvas.
Georges de la Tour, The Newborn, c. 1645. Oil on canvas
Rembrandt, The Descent from the Cross, c. 1633. Oil on wood
Rembrandt, Portrait of Jan Six, 1654. Oil on canvas.