Light vs. Evil

This image represents a good example of the art term chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is used to describe the artistic devise of using light and dark values in order to express depth and volume. High values are present on the right side of the woman’s face as well as her upper body. The highest value in the composition is the light in the background behind the dragon image. This value because it gradually gets brighter towards the center appears to be moving towards the audience. It is positioned in order to appear like light shining through an area and moving inward. Not quite as high of values but still bright lie in the details in the dragon’s body. Especially in the area near the foreground. The dragon is very dark in color value blending in with the very dark background that surrounds the images in some spaces. The light details act as accents for the image. On the woman there are dark accents opposite of the ones on the dragon. This contrast a represents figure ground reversal technique. The value of the different values is also apparent in the composition. The blue hue in the background is the most noticeable example. The outer edges of the object are darker, whereas as the eye is drawn inward the tone of the color changes. The more closer in the center the more white the color become. This change in color is another reason I find it to be the focal point in the composition. This area is complemented by the head and bust of the woman in the foreground. Both these objects seem to come forward in space. The lightness of them is also symbolic. Light represented to goos and dark representing evil. The light in the background is in opposition to the very dark background that surrounds all the imagery. These color plays are used to address good verses evil to the viewers. This image is very dark but yet it is still very light at the same time, so I believe that the composition represents chiaroscuro very well.