Patt Panzer • Carson Zullinger

chiaroscuro:

Emerging from the Darkness

Chiaroscuro is an artistic technique that uses strong contrasts 
between light and dark to create a sense of volume and 
drama. The term comes from the Italian words chiaro 
("clear" or "light") and scuro ("dark"). This technique, also 
known as modeling, is used in painting, photography, 
and other visual arts to give a two-dimensional surface 
the illusion of three-dimensional depth.

Chiaroscuro shaped Baroque painting and later film noir 
lighting by turning light–dark contrast into a primary 
storytelling tool rather than a mere naturalistic effect. 
In both, strong directional light and deep shadow are used to
model form, isolate figures, and load scenes with 
psychological and moral tension.

Our friend Roseanna had suggested that I spend time 
studying  Carravgio’s paintings. 
I worked with four models this summer: Anoush Anou, Astrid, 
Jessa Ray and Meghan Claire to explore interpreting his paintings. 
This body of work in one form or another relates to the 
use of Chiaroscuro.

Patt Panzer:

I selected images where I used technique based on chiaroscuro, 
learned from Carson several years ago 
when I began my “Wildlife in my Backyard Garden” 
photography series.