Monday 5 Things ….. Chiaroscuro: Let the Shadows Speak …..
June 23, 2025 by D. Paul Graham
Ever curious and always amused by the quirks of life, join D. Paul Graham each Monday for more M5T pondering.
Stable Shadows into the Light. Photo by D. Paul Graham. The Stables at Serenbe.
This past week I found myself spending time absorbing the work of classical artists Caravaggio, Rembrandt, de La Tour, Van Rijin, Gentileschi, and Vermeer, and photographers Karsh, Weston, Brandt, Adams, Sontag, Lang, Steiglitz, and Cartier Bresson. All masters of light and shadow conveying stark moods and narratives with their brushes and cameras. Chiaroscuro is from Italian, “chiaro” meaning light and “scuro” meaning dark. It is an artistic technique of using light and shadow to define three-dimensional objects. In both art and life, I think there is a temptation to chase light, to clarify, expose, brighten, and define. But what if our deepest truths live in the shadowed spaces? What if meaning isn’t found in the parts we spotlight, but in the contrast that we dare to leave behind? Chiaroscuro demonstrates that light without darkness is flat. Life without tension is mediocre. The most honest moments of our lives are those that we don’t have to overexplain. Chiaroscuro allows us to dive into the art of contrast with the interplay of light and shadow. It makes the ordinary dramatic and the dramatic unforgettable. Chiaroscuro is beyond an artistic technique. It’s a philosophy that lets the shadows do the talking while the light simply whispers. This morning’s M5T provides 5 ways to use chiaroscuro in life.
1. ILLUMINATE BY DARKENING THE SCENE. The adage of “light reveals, and shadow refines” is as true in art as it is in life. In life, we often try to be everything at once. Visible, available, and fully known. But often, clarity comes not from overexposure, but from subtraction. When we darken the noise around us, when we quiet the distractions, mute the opinions, and dim the background, our sincerest self can begin to emerge. Focus doesn’t always come from adding more light. It comes from deciding what not to illuminate. When you walk into a dim room and see a single thing lit, your eyes naturally focus on it, and you take notice. The same can be true of our intentions. Illuminate what matters by darkening what doesn’t. The dance between light and shadow is what makes us whole. We are not either/or. We are the movement between. Life isn’t about staying in the light or hiding in the dark. It’s about learning how to move between the two with grace. It is understanding the beauty of light while respecting the necessity of shadow. When you embrace both, you stop chasing perfection and start living in balance.
2. SHADOWS SHAPE EMOTION. “What is hidden often holds the deepest and profound truth.” We live in an age obsessed with transparency. But not every truth is meant to be thrown into the spotlight. Shadows, emotional, personal, even creative, add weight. Shadows are where feelings mature, where stories gain nuance, and where our humanity is allowed to be unresolved. We shouldn’t be afraid of what’s not clear. Get comfortable with the tension and let ambiguity live. A good story, like a good life, needs unsolved corners, quiet moments, moments of darkness like a room with the lights off. Trust that not all depth has to be dissected. What is hidden often still shapes us; just because it’s in shadow doesn’t mean it’s absent. Our unseen experiences of quiet grief, unspoken dreams, and internal battles still shape our edges. They give us empathy, caution, and wisdom. Not everything needs to be brought into the spotlight to be real. Some things are meant to stay in soft focus, quietly guiding our steps, allow us time to process, mature, and grow.
3. CONTRAST AS CHARACTER. “A life without tension is a flat canvas.” Chiaroscuro isn’t just about light. It’s about interplay. You are not defined by your best days or your darkest hours, but by the tension that exists between them. The scars and the strength. The joy you carry beside your grief. Character emerges in contrast. The quiet after the storm. The kindness after conflict. The vulnerability behind the success. When we allow ourselves to be seen in that contrast, we become understood by those that care the most about us. Let the duality live in you. You are not one thing. You are the intersection of extremes between light and shadow. Without shadows, we have no depth. Light alone reveals surface. Shadow gives it meaning. Life without hardship is a postcard, bright, but forgettable. The shadows in our life story, loss, uncertainty, and solitude are not blemishes. They are contours. They show where we’ve been scarred, what we’ve endured, and where we’ve matured and grown deeper. It’s in this contrast that we become dimensional, whole and fulfilled.
4. SHADOWS SAY MORE THAN DETAIL. “You don’t have to show everything to be known.” There’s something powerful in restraint. In art, a silhouette holds shape without confession. In life, mystery invites interpretation, while overexposure invites judgment. You don’t have to reveal every corner of your story to be authentic. Sometimes, the outline of who you are, the values you choose to live by, the silence you honor, and the boundaries you draw, are enough. Let the silhouette of your integrity speak louder than any highlight reel or social media post. You are more than what you show the world around you. The truest parts of you may live where no one looks. In a photograph, the shadows often reveal the essence of an image. So too in people. You are your contradictions, your anger, your private resilience, and your unseen kindness. Let the shadows speak softly. They often tell the better story.
5. LET YOUR DARKNESS BREATHE. “The spaces we leave untouched are righteous.” Not every part of your canvas needs to be filled. In life, as in art, space is sacred. We tend to fear silence, stillness, and the unknown, but these are the very things that give shape to meaning in life. Just as darkness in a painting allows the light to glow, quiet seasons in life allow clarity to emerge. Let go of the urge to fix, to fill, to always know. Let darkness breathe in your work, in your relationships, and in your soul. It’s in that breath, the pause between the notes, that beauty can be found. Light is only beautiful because of darkness. We cherish brightness not because it’s constant, but because it breaks through. Joy is not joy unless it rises from a darker place. A smile matters more after sorrow. Success is richer after struggle. Light is not the default setting of life. So often, it is the reward for walking through the shadow and still choosing to see, to risk, and to change.
Here's to a week of not fearing the unlit, of walking boldly with your shadows, and letting your light emerge from the contrast and of finding the most honest part of your story, your full image.
© 2025 D. Paul Graham, All Rights Reserved
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