Tenebrism:
If we are looking for a tenebrism art definition, we could say that tenebrism is a painting technique that uses deep darkness to generate a spotlight effect around well-lit objects. Tenebrism is widely seen in Italian and Spanish baroque works and is closely connected to the chiaroscuro artistic method, which is based on the equally stark juxtaposition of light and dark. [Art In Context]
Noted in “A rare U.S. Caravaggio masterpiece shows how a murderer painted death,” Sebastian Smee, WaPo:
So the whole picture is involving. But what I am repeatedly drawn to is not the baroque space or Caravaggio’s tenebrism (his brilliant manipulation of pockets of lights within enveloping darkness). It’s not the operatic drama of the two elevated bodies, one curving slackly to the right, the other listing leftward, like heavy, three-day-old tulips in a vase.
