The Emotional Resonance of Tenebrism: A Study of Caravaggio's Psychological Realism and Its Impact on Viewers

Abstract

Caravaggio’s use of chiaroscuro, tenebrism, and color can evoke a variety of emotions in viewers. This study explores emotional responses through an analysis of his two paintings: Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1598–1602) and Narcissus (c. 1597–1599). An online survey using Google Forms was conducted with 64 participants, all of whom were students from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka, aged between 18 and 25. The findings reveal that the paintings mostly evoked a range of negative emotions among participants. The results show that, for Judith Beheading Holofernes, 29.8% of respondents reported fear as the dominant emotion; 61.7% associated the painting with the color red. For Narcissus, 55.3% identified sadness as the primary emotion; 51.1% reported black as the dominant color. The study is limited by its relatively small sample size. In conclusion, light, shadow, and color in art can trigger different reactions in people; their use in art can be used to study potential connections between visual elements and their therapeutic or psychological significance.