CHIAROSCURO

I had never known about chiaroscuro before reading the research point, and when I realised what it was, I actually realised that some of the work I loved had a chiaroscuro effect, due to the fact that historical art is my preference and natural light was obviously the only means of direct light after the sun disappeared in the Renaissance years. I have admired artists like Rembrandt and Rubens for years and yet I did not know that there was a simple term to sum their painting technique up. However, when researching artists from the Renaissance period, Rembrandt and Rubens were not necessarily the artists that I was most drawn to, as the Dutch Golden Age painter Gerard van Honthorst was an instant love for me. Below are some of my favourite works of van Honthorst, and this is because I admire how he creates the faces and how the people’s skin glow with a healthy, ruddy complexion. The way that he blends the oil to create the blemish free skin is emphasises as the shadows merge onto the planes of the face, and creates form and contours of the face, to produce a 3 Dimensional form. Another distinguishing factor of his work is that there are always more than one person in the painting with separate facial features which gives him the opportunity to explore the variety of shapes and forms of unrelated faces in order to give them individual characteristics, and in some pieces he exaggerates this by including several generations of both the young and the old. One connection to chiaroscuro I have noticed is that van Honthorst features his light source in the compositions which in turn illuminates the whole canvas, whether it be a candle or a torch of fire.

Adoration of the Child, 1620, Gerard van Honthorst

The Denial of St Peter, 1620, Gerard van Honthorst

The Matchmaker, Gerard van Honthorst

The Soldier and the Girl, Gerard van Honthorst

Another artist who greatly influenced the technique of chiaroscuro during the Baroque movement was Caravaggio who had influenced the previously mentioned van Honthorst. Caraviggio was said to be than man that put ‘oscuro’ in chiaroscuro, and even though the technique had been around before his time in the profession, Caraviggio was the man to make it a dominant style in art. Skimming over a general variety of paintings, I have noticed that Caraviggio reimagines biblical stories and uses extreme tenebrism to separate the light from the shadows and represent the harsh daylight. By doing so, Caraviggio creates a harsh and mysterious atmosphere with half the story hidden in the vast shadows. Also, along with the biblical stories, Caraviggio pairs religion against death perhaps depicting the brevity of life and the inevitability of demise and mortality, and with that, perhaps there could be another hidden message connected with faith conveying the death of a body but the release of a soul that will meet the gates of judgement shortly after. One painting that draws my attention is ‘The Calling of Saint Matthew’ shown below, which uses chiaroscuro extremely, showing where the direct sunlight comes from and cuts sections of the canvas into light and dark, and by doing so creates a dramatic scene full of detail where the light shines on the figures.

The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1599

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, Caraviggio

David with the Head of Goliath, 1609, Caraviggio

In contrast to the previous artists, Joseph Wright of Derby appeared around 200 years later and with him came a great artist, accomplished in observation and compositional choices. The three paintings he created below, show exceptional talent in observation and show a consistency of attention to detail, with no areas lacking in precision. Another common aspect is that Wright picked a particular area to create a concentrated light source and afterward carefully selected where to extend the light to the best potential of a realistic painting. In particular ‘The Alchemist in Search for the Philosopher’s Stone’ shows progression in the study of science and the beginnings of thinking that God is was the only being in control of whatever occurred in the world which then brings a connection to the big bang and what would have likely been a burst of light in a mass of darkness.

An Iron Forge, 1772, Joseph Wright of Derby

An Expeiment on a Bird in the Air Pump,1768, Joseph Wright of Derby

The Alchemist in Search of the Philosopher’s Stone, 1771, Joseph Wright of Derby

After having researched chiaroscuro, I noticed that well known contemporary artists do not use the technique of using extremities in light and shadow, and I feel it is a real shame, as one cannot see the evolution of the technique that has passed down from each movement in art. When one thinks of landscapes and portraits, a progression in style and perspective can be easily recognised, but it seems that the chiaroscuro effects ceased when the Renaissance movement did so. Seeing as a more traditional interpretation is my favourite, I am intrigued as to how I would approach this effect in style that I preferred painting a portrait, which is my favourite subject.

With the last thought in mind, one artist from the 20th century does pop into mind, who was a polish portrait painter who excelled in the art deco movement, and whose style was fresh, clean and crisp. Tamara de Lempicka’s portraits of fashionable, beautiful women presented the perfect shadows highlights and planes of the face, all by blocking and blending oil on canvas. She was one of the most influential in the movement and was probably the dominant portrait artist. As one can see from her work shown below, her portraits use direct light and show faces half in light, half in darkness, and even though the effect may not be as extreme as the other artists her work is an updated, stylized version of the Renaissance, which I hope to be able to explore in the third part of the course.