Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is Italian for light and shadow, and the art technique concerns the balance and use of these two elements in a composition. There are many beautiful examples of the use of this concept both in painting and photography, so I've gone ahead and shown some below.  the technique was first brought to its full potential by Leonardo da Vinci in paintings as his Adoration of the Magi, pictured directly below.

Here are some other examples in which the technique is a big visual focus:

-Sophia