Chiaroscuro
Etymology
A compound of Italian "chiaro," "clear, light," from Latin clarus, and "scuro," "dark, obscure," from Latin obscurus. The two opposites were fused into a single studio term during the Renaissance to describe the deliberate play of brightness against gloom. It later spread from painting to describe lighting in photography and film.
noun · /kee-ar-uh-SKYOOR-oh/
The bold treatment of light and shadow in a picture to model form and create drama.
What it names
The specific effect of a figure emerging from deep darkness into a shaft of light, letting you name what makes a Caravaggio or a film-noir frame feel charged rather than merely lit.
Example
The cinematographer worked in near-total chiaroscuro, so the detective was little more than a lit cheekbone floating in the dark.
Related idea
Chiaroscuro is the broad handling of light and dark; tenebrism is its extreme form, where near-black shadow dominates the whole canvas.