Caravaggio and Chiaroscuro

In art, Chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrast between dark and light. In Italian, Chiaroscuro means "light-dark" and was most notably utilised by Michelangelo de Merisi Caravaggio (1571-1610), a baroque-painter from Italy who demonstrated and harnessed Chiaroscuro through his own artwork.

Left: 'Narcissus at the Source', completed in 1599, demonstrates the effects of Chiaroscuro in painting and in artwork.

Left: 'Saint Jerome Writing', completed in 1606, another painting with a potently dark background, as well as light and defined images in the foreground.

Though more so to do with art than film, I believe that Chiaroscuro and the work of Caravaggio something to highlight when producing a short-film such as mine, as I am hoping to have large contrast between dark and light, with the dark indoors and the bright lights outside juxtaposing each other and adding effect to the different lighting.

(the lights outside have previously been mentioned in another essay of mine; https://www.ghirardellomedia.com/post/the-war-of-the-worlds-light-effects)

Left: An iconic painting which showcases the art of Chiaroscuro.

('Girl with a Pearl Earring', 1665, Johannes Vermeer)