Lightness and darkness of hue is called:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:
In art and colour theory, the term for the lightness or darkness of a colour is formally known as Value, but it is very commonly and correctly referred to as Tone, especially within British and Indian art traditions. Tone is one of the three primary properties of colour, alongside Hue (the pure colour name) and Saturation/Chroma (the purity or intensity of the colour). Changing the tone of a hue is achieved by adding black to create shades (darker tones) or adding white to create tints (lighter tones). Mastering tone is crucial for artists because it is the element that defines form, creates the illusion of three-dimensional volume, and establishes a sense of space and dramatic mood in a two-dimensional painting.

The incorrect option is 2:
Light is the source of illumination that makes objects and their colours visible; it is a form of electromagnetic radiation. While the presence or absence of light dictates the observable tone of a hue, the intrinsic artistic property of a colour's lightness or darkness is termed tone, not light itself. Light describes the energy or phenomenon that enables vision, whereas tone describes the quality of the colour material. Furthermore, in a finished artwork, light often refers to the creation of highlights and shadows, which are merely the lightest and darkest *values* or tones in the composition.

The incorrect option is 3:
Area refers to the measurable extent of a surface or space on a canvas. In the context of painting and drawing, an area simply describes the two-dimensional expanse a shape or colour occupies. While an area will possess a certain tone (a specific lightness or darkness), the term 'Area' does not define the property of lightness or darkness itself. It is a measurement or a compositional element, not a property of the visual characteristic being questioned.

The incorrect option is 4:
Texture relates to the surface quality of an artwork or object—how it feels or how it is depicted to feel. This characteristic can be actual texture (like the roughness of a material) or visual texture (the illusion of texture created by marks). Texture is a completely separate element of art from tone. An artist may use variations in tone (lightness and darkness) to suggest or render texture, but the two are not interchangeable; for instance, a light tone can have a rough texture just as easily as a dark one.