Value or tone is a very important art element especially in drawing and painting. Value/tone refers to the "darkness" and "lightness" of a colour and the contrast that can be created by using dark and light. Picasso's famous painting Guernica, for example, is characterized by the artist's use of various shades of gray, white and black, which create contrasts between the various abstract shapes and the background. Significantly, in Picasso's painting the colour range of white, gray, and black is a supportive element to the meaning the painting tries to convey (Russell, 1980).
Shade/tone is, however, not limited to black and white but can be applied to all colours. During the Renaissance, artists perfected the use of shade/tone. "Chiaroscuro" is a term used to denote a technique first used by Renaissance artists. It is the skilful use of light and dark to create strong contrasts and achieve three-dimensional or dramatic effects (Getlein & Gilbert, 2010). Peter Paul Rubens painting The Raising of the Cross (1609-1610) is an excellent example of the use of value/tone or chiaroscuro in Renaissance art. The painting depicts, as the title suggests, the raising of the cross of Christ. The painting is dominated by diagonal lines (the cross, Jesus' body, the vegetation in the background), which suggests Christ's rising from the dead. This symbolic meaning is also supported by Rubens's use of shade/tone. Christ's body at the centre of the painting is significantly lighter than its surrounding, as if being bathed in a ray of light from the heavens. His body starkly contrasts with the dark sky and sombre vegetation in the background. Moreover, the bodies of the men raising the cross appear as if they were standing in twilight, which again, carries symbolic meaning. Rubens's use of value/tone creates a dramatic effect, which makes the painting appear lively and realistic.
Closely related to chiaroscuro is tenebrism, which is an...