tenebrism
noun
ten·e·brism ˈte-nə-ˌbri-zəm 
often capitalized
: a style of painting especially associated with the Italian painter Caravaggio and his followers in which most of the figures are engulfed in shadow but some are dramatically illuminated by a beam of light usually from an identifiable source
tenebrist
ˈte-nə-brist
noun or adjective often capitalized 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Combining tenebrism with real-life models, heightened naturalism and tight, tumultuous spaces, Caravaggio brought pictorial storytelling to an unprecedented pitch of intensity. 
Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2020
Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2020 Word History
Etymology
probably borrowed from Italian tenebrismo, from tenebroso tenebrous + -ism -ism
First Known Use
1954, in the meaning defined above