A slide presentation for my Art 10 students on understanding form and space through the development of light and shadow.

1. CHIAROSCURO
Understanding Light and Shadow

2. USING LIGHT AND SHADOW TO
CREATE FORM
Chiaroscuro- Italian for light/dark
• Uses high contrast in values to suggest shape and form
• Primarily developed in the Renaissance
• Use of chiaroscuro presents implied shape

3. LEONARDO DAVINCI
Chiaroscuro
• Outlines were eliminated
• Form developed within the space
• Allowed for more realistic
presentation of space
Leonardo – Study of Drapery circa 1473

4. MIDDLE TONE
Notice that the hands in this image take form
through the use of light and shadow. Any sense
of line is implied through the development of a
contrast between values.
Chiaroscuro developed on neutral paper using white for
highlights, black for shadow, and the paper itself becoming a
middle tone

5. JOHANNES VERMEER
The Kitchen Maid
c1658
Vermeer used chiaroscuro to bring
depth to images of everyday living.
Light and shadow give a strong sense
of dimensional form

6. YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Three Drawing Process
1. Drawing shadows with charcoal on white paper
2. Drawing highlights with pencil crayon or white conte
on black paper
3. Drawing both highlights and shadows with a neutral
background paper
Working with chiaroscuro techniques, you will be developing form through the
use of value.

7. CHOICE OF SUBJECT
For this assignment, you may choose to use one or three
of the following subjects for your drawings:
1 Drapery as put up on the board, with lamps to create
areas of contrast
2 Your jackets/sweaters draped over a chair in an
interesting composition
3 A still life set up in a small box that you can shine a light
on to create areas of contrast
4 Mr. B (the Skeleton) in the Art Room
Please note that we will be spending time in the library as well as the art room
for this project. You should try to complete one full drawing per class this
week

8. FOR YOUR DRAWINGS
Ensure that your black paper and your white paper are the same size
Create a two inch border all the way around your black and white papers. Most
of your image should be contained within the boarder.
Make certain that when you are drawing that you are filling up your drawing
space
For the neutral paper, create a one inch boarder and use BOTH black and
white to create light and shadow

9. AFTER YOUR DRAWINGS ARE
DONE…
Using your first two drawings, you will be
creating a woven image. Before starting,
make sure that you get pictures taken of
each image.
You will need to mark off lines on both of
these drawings, one drawing on the vertical
axis and one drawing on the horizontal axis.
Cut these lines.
Align the drawings and create an interesting
image by weaving your work together.
Please note- it does not have to be a 1:1
weave. You can play with it to develop the
maximum visual interest.

10. SOURCES AND INSPIRATION
History of Art, 4ed. By H.W. Janson
Art Renewal Centre Museum, www.artrenewal.org
Encyclopedia Britanica Online
Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia
Incredible @rt Department Weave Drawing Assignment, Ken Schwab,
incredibleart.org