"Chiaroscuro" (pronounced "key - are - ah - `skeeyoor - oh") is the Italian word for the artist's trick of creating illusions of three-dimensional objects on two-dimensioal surfaces. It derives from "chiaro - "light" (or more precisely, "bright"), and "scuro" - "shadow", literally the alternation of areas of light and shade that painters use to model objects in space. The technique appeared in rudimentary form during the Middle Ages, but was perfected during the Early Renaissance -- around 1425 -- both in Italy (Tuscany) and the North (notably the Germanic states). For my lira, the device has never been used to greater effect than by Leonardo da Vinci (see especially, his Virgin and Child with St. Anne ), although Raphael wielded a pretty mean brush, himself. It was not until about 1870 that artists got bored with the technique, and the Modern era began. So it goes...
Here endeth the Lesson.
By coincidence, chiaroscuro is also the name of my sixth publicly released color scheme for Greg Landweber, Frederick J. Bass and Ed Voas' Kaleidoscope control panel. The latest version of Kaleidoscope is 1.7.2, but chiaroscuro will work fine with any version from 1.5 on. If you don't have it, you can download it from Greg's website at http://www.kaleidoscope.net or any of a number of sites dedicated to the creation of third-party Kaleidoscope Color Schemes.
Aesthetic notes: As the name suggests, chiaroscuro is an effort to create the illusion of three-dimensional objects and space through the opposition of light and shade. That said, chiaroscuro remains an anomaly, an abberation, a betrayal. chiaroscuro is a gray scheme where previously I had produced only highly colored works, works which look great in 1000's of colors, but... not so great in anything less. On the other hand,chiaroscuro is a whore; she will do your bidding no matter how few colors your computer offers -- as long as it's more than one! Still, I have dipped into my confectioner's bag of tricks to provide a variety of eye-pleasing, albeit, gray, details, and even a surprise or two, if you can find them. I hope you enjoy chiaroscuro . If not, as always, you know where the trash can is.
The chiaroscuro package includes the color scheme, two desktop patterns and, unless you chose the legg俊o ("light"-- sorry, I don't know the Italian for "lite") version, a complete set of custom icons. After installing Kaleidoscope in your Control Panels folder, simply dropchiaroscuro in the Kaleidoscope Color Schemes folder in your Extensions folder. Then open the Kaleidoscope control panel and select chiaroscuro . To install the desktop patterns, open your Desktop Patterns control panel and drop the patterns on the open Desktop Patterns window. The new icons will magically appear when you restart your Mac.
chiaroscuro is opinionware; if you have strong feelings one way or the other, send them along via E-mail. As a dedicated Mac-type, I am committed to the pursuit of quality in all things, so let me know what you think -- I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
The small print: All artwork in this color scheme is copyrighted. Please do not use it for any purpose, without my prior approval. It may be freely distributed as long as it is not altered and this docu mentation accompanies it.
