Artist's term for contrast of detail and empty areas

In art:

if contrapposto is an aesthetic asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure and chiaroscuro is an effect of contrasted light and shadow.

What is the term for a sculpture or painting that has a balance of fine detail and areas that are left rough (ébauche) or without any detail.

And yes, I see the irony in asking on a English language forum for a word might be of Italian or French extraction.

Solution 1:

We may call such sculpture or painting 'relief' or 'relievo'. But from the suggestions in the post we are more prone to calling such art work "SUNKEN RELIEF/INCISED RELIEF" or even "INTAGLIO". As Britanica.com has it, the carving or painting is sunk below the level of the surrounding surface and is contained within ' a sharply incised contour line that frames it with a powerful line of light and shade'.

Solution 2:

sfumato

The technique is a fine shading meant to produce a soft transition between colours and tones, in order to achieve a more believable image. It is most often used by making subtle gradations that do not include lines or borders, from areas of light to areas of dark. The technique was used not only to give an elusive and illusionistic rendering of the human face but also to create rich atmospheric effects. Leonardo da Vinci described the technique as blending colours, without the use of lines or borders "in the manner of smoke". Britinnaca.com

(My artist husband's own personal term for this is dissonance.)