Caravaggio used tenebrism, an extreme form of chiaroscuro built around stark contrasts between illuminated figures and enveloping darkness.
The word comes from the Italian tenebroso, meaning dark or gloomy. Chiaroscuro broadly describes the use of light and shade to model three-dimensional form, but tenebrism pushes that contrast much further: darkness dominates the composition, while a narrow beam or spotlight isolates the crucial action.
Caravaggio made this dramatic lighting central to his mature style. In works such as The Calling of Saint Matthew and The Supper at Emmaus, light directs the viewer’s attention, heightens psychological tension, and makes sacred scenes feel immediate and physical. His figures often appear like people observed in a dark room rather than idealized figures in a generalized setting.
Tenebrism is not the same as fresco, impasto, or sfumato. Fresco is a wall-painting method, impasto concerns thick paint texture, and sfumato creates soft, smoky transitions. Caravaggio is usually credited with making tenebrism a defining force in early Baroque painting, though earlier artists also used dramatic darkness.