What is chiaroscuro?

Chiaroscuro is about the dark/light ratio. That is to say the difference of values in simple, almost abstract planes. In general you can say that the stronger the chiaroscuro the fewer problems you encounter with the colour contrast. A lot of information is available on the internet. Here I give some examples.

John Singer Sargent " Spanish Dancer.
John Singer Sargent ” Spanish Dancer.
Diego Velazquez " Juan de Pareja"
Diego Velazquez ” Juan de Pareja”
Caravaggio "Canestra di frutta"
Caravaggio “Canestra di frutta”
Rembrandt van Rijn " Nachtwacht"
Rembrandt van Rijn ” Nachtwacht”

But what has this to do with portrait painting? Below: Same model, different lighting. Which one is easier to paint?

 

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