Tenebrism

Etymology

Coined by art historians from Latin "tenebrae" (darkness, shadows), via the Italian "tenebroso" (murky, gloomy). It labels a Baroque manner in which darkness dominates the canvas and light falls like a theatrical beam.

noun · /TEN-uh-briz-um/
A painting style built on stark contrasts of deep shadow and concentrated light.
What it names
The dramatic, spotlight-in-the-dark technique that makes a figure seem to emerge from blackness — Caravaggio’s signature.
Example
The gallery lit the portrait dimly, heightening the tenebrism the artist had painted into it.
Related idea
Tenebrism is the extreme cousin of chiaroscuro — chiaroscuro is any modeling with light and shade, while tenebrism plunges most of the scene into near-total dark.