# Build brief: Tenebrism

Resource base: https://mejohnc.org (or the preview host used to obtain this file).

Use this direction within the user’s requested project and existing design constraints.

## Illustrative use case, not project requirements
A portrait gallery with one illuminated subject and unobtrusive but visible metadata.

A dramatic lighting approach in which concentrated illumination emerges from extensive darkness. It is more specific than a dark theme or ordinary high-contrast text.

## Essential cues
- Dominant shadow
- Concentrated light
- Dramatic subject

## Recipe
- Let one lit image establish the mood.
- Keep interface text evenly readable.
- Reserve darkness for framing rather than hiding controls.

## Optional decoration
A strongly lit subject image is essential to a full treatment.

## Avoid
Equating any black background with tenebrism or obscuring navigation to create drama.

## Values and validation
Read [tokens](/territories/tenebrism/tokens.json) and [acceptance checklist](/territories/tenebrism/checklist.md). Use [the working example](/territories/tenebrism/example/) to inspect color roles, spacing, hierarchy, and interaction states. It is a UI translation, not a reproduction of historical art. Tokens describe the base UI; [example CSS](/territories/assets/example.css) contains the style-specific composition and decorative layer. Preview navigation with `?navigation=top`, `?navigation=sidebar`, or `?navigation=tabs`; combine with `project`. Use [Compare](/territories/compare/) for mobile (390 px), tablet (820 px), and desktop (1440 px) viewports.

## Delivery
Preserve real content and existing working behavior. Check keyboard, narrow layout, error, empty, and success states. Report any departures from this recipe with a reason. Do not claim to have inspected a preview or run checks that you could not access.

Schema 1.0.0; revision f5fd78058ba2.