What is the Italian name for the painting technique that refers to the subtle blending of colours or tones so that there is no perceptible transition between them?
"as linear perspective, the realistic depiction of both physical and psychological features, and the manipulation of light and darkness, including tone contrast, sfumato (softening the transition between colours) and chiaroscuro (contrast between light and dark), in a single unifying style which expressed total compositional order, balance and harmony. In particular, the individual parts of the painting had a complex but balanced and well-knit relationship to a dynamic whole. Painting of the High Renaissance is considered to be the absolute zenith of western painting and achieved the balancing and reconciliation, in harmony, of contradictory and seemingly mutually exclusive artistic positions, such"
"period. 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"". Besides Leonardo and his followers the"
"Sfumato Sfumato (, ) is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. Leonardo da Vinci was the most prominent practitioner of sfumato, based on his research in optics and human vision, and his experimentation with the camera obscura. He used it in many works, including the ""Virgin of the Rocks"" and in his famous painting of the ""Mona Lisa"". He described sfumato as ""without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or beyond the focus plane"". According to the theory of the"
"Leonardeschi, who often used it heavily, other prominent practitioners of sfumato included Correggio, Raphael and Giorgione. Raphael's ""Madonna of the Meadow"" is a famous example, particularly around Mary's face. The Leonardeschi include Bernardino Luini and Funisi. Sfumato Sfumato (, ) is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. Leonardo da Vinci was the most prominent practitioner of sfumato, based on his research in optics and human vision, and his experimentation with the camera obscura. He used it in many works, including the ""Virgin"
"Verdaccio Verdaccio is an Italian name for the mixture of black, white, and yellow pigments resulting in a grayish or yellowish (depending on the proportion) soft greenish brown. Verdaccio became an integral part of fresco painting, in which this color is used for defining tonal values, forming a complete monochromatic underpainting. Often architectural details in frescoes are left in verdaccio without any additional color layers; a notable example is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where verdaccio underpainting can be clearly seen, left as it is on all architectural details of the composition. In oil painting, a similar technique is"
"and slow to dry. As each layer builds up, they create effects of light and texture not possible with other painting techniques. This glazing technique is very similar to that of the artists of the Italian Renaissance, giving the paint a luminous quality. By combining the painting mediums and the dozens of translucent layers of oil paint, the pittura di strati technique refines the work to a unique style of painting. Because of all the variables in the layering, glazing, and varnishing, paintings in the series are unique and can vary in color, texture, etc. Similar to the bronze method"
"Impasto Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface in very thick layers, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture; the paint appears to be coming ""out"" of the canvas. The word ""impasto"" is Italian in origin; in which it means ""dough"" or ""mixture""; the verb ""impastare"" translates to ""to knead"", or ""to paste"". Italian usage of ""impasto"" includes both a painting and a potting technique. According to Webster's ""New World College Dictionary"","
"such as raw sienna, and is often diluted with turpentine. The term ""imprimatura"" should not be confused with ""imprimatur"", a term used in editing. Imprimatura In painting, imprimatura is an initial stain of color painted on a ground. It provides a painter with a transparent, toned ground, which will allow light falling onto the painting to reflect through the paint layers. The term itself stems from the Italian and literally means ""first paint layer"". Its use as an underpainting layer can be dated back to the guilds and workshops during the Middle Ages; however, it came into standard use by"
"until the age of the Italian Renaissance when it was given a new name: chiaroscuro. Apollodorus' development of skiagraphia was only the beginning of this form of art's gradual development. In Italian, ""chiaro"" means light and ""scuro"" means dark. So the two together symbolize the combination and distribution of light and dark into one to create a more lifelike image. No longer simply used for paintings on canvas of stationary objects, chiaroscuro is used in all types of art, even sculpture, frescoes, and woodcuts. Chiaroscuro is used to produce volume and relief, to unify the objects in a painting, or"
"Rijn, Diego Velázquez, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. Impasto Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface in very thick layers, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture; the paint appears to be coming ""out"" of the canvas. The word ""impasto"" is Italian in origin; in which it means ""dough"" or ""mixture""; the verb ""impastare"" translates to ""to knead"", or ""to paste"". Italian usage of ""impasto"" includes both a"
"are people who consider Constant's later work as a return to tradition. I, however, do not share this opinion. Because I consider his later development from the 1970s as greater penetration into the garden of painting."" In the tradition of the Venetian Renaissance painters, Titian and Tintoretto, Constant applied himself to the technique of colorism. Following this technique the artist doesn't make use of charcoal or pencil sketches but applies colour directly on the canvas with the paintbrush, constructing soft transitions instead of sharp contours. The most important feature of this technique is the way light is expressed in the"
"such as Giotto (whose technique is described in detail by Cennino Cennini), as well as by Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden (whose technique has been studied with modern scientific analysis). This technique was pioneered by Titian in the High Renaissance. The colors of the underpainting can be optically mingled with the subsequent overpainting, without the danger of the colors physically blending and becoming muddy. If underpainting is done properly, it facilitates overpainting. If it seems that if one has to fight to obscure the underpainting, it is a sign that it was not done properly. Underpainting In"
"Prestezza Prestezza in art is a painting technique that utilizes rapid brushstrokes to make impressions of faces and objects as opposed to painting them out in detail. The technique allows for faster painting and makes the undercoat an integral part of the painting itself. The Renaissance painter Tintoretto first developed the method to increase the output of his workshop. The prestezza method consists of three steps: At first the artist applied a brown undercoat, using a color that was used for etching technology, on the canvas. Thereafter he made a rough drawing using white colour, very often like a sketch."
"the varied means of expression and various advances in painting technique, such as linear perspective, the realistic depiction of both physical and psychological features, and the manipulation of light and darkness, including tone contrast, sfumato (softening the transition between colours) and chiaroscuro (contrast between light and dark), in a single unifying style which expressed total compositional order, balance and harmony. In particular, the individual parts of the painting had a complex but balanced and well-knit relationship to the whole. Painting of the High Renaissance is considered to be the absolute zenith of western painting and achieved the balancing and reconciliation,"
"his notes about painting, he highlights that light and shadow should intermingle ""without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or beyond the focus plane"". Sfumato usually implies using many translucent layers to create a gradual tone spectrum from dark to light, eliminating thus the unwanted sharp contours. The technique is emphasized in the ""Mona Lisa"" (1503–1506, Musée du Louvre, Paris). On the other hand, chiaroscuro, another oil painting technique, uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms, often to dramatic effect. The first use of light-dark three-dimensional shadows – known as """"skiagraphia"""" or ""shadow-painting"""
"for the right tonal key. There should be the harmony between light and dark, without the excesses and accentuation of a chiaroscuro mode. Unione According to the theory of the art historian Marcia B. Hall, which has gained considerable acceptance, unione (/uˈnjone/) is one of four modes of painting colours available to Italian High Renaissance painters, along with sfumato, chiaroscuro and cangiante. Unione was developed by Raphael, who exemplified it in the Stanza della Segnatura. Unione is similar to sfumato, but is more useful for the edges of chiaroscuro, where vibrant colors are involved. As with chiaroscuro, ""unione"" conveys the"
"pursuit of artistic perfection. ""The storm"" (1506–1508), now in the Accademia in Venice, is an example of this use of colour, where the mixture colour and texture continue indefinitely without preparatory drawing for the painting work gives a special atmosphere. Titian, born in Belluno Pieve di Cadore, brought forward the use of this technique without pictorial design, creating masterpieces such as the ""Assumption of the Virgin"" (1516–1518), an altar made by imposing visible sizes on the main altar of the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, a work whose suggestion is due to the use of colour."
"medium with white highlighting. The underlying principle is that solidity of form is best achieved by the light falling against it. Artists known for developing the technique include Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. It is a mainstay of black and white and low-key photography. It is one of the modes of painting colour in Renaissance art (alongside cangiante, sfumato and unione). The term chiaroscuro originated during the Renaissance as drawing on coloured paper, where the artist worked from the paper's base tone toward light using white gouache, and toward dark using ink, bodycolour or watercolour. These in turn drew"
"define the shapes of figures and landscapes and to create an atmosphere wherein all components of the painting are unified. Some believe he may have been taught this by Leonardo da Vinci who is said to have visited Venice in 1501. In his ""Castelfranco Madonna"", 1505, the use of line and colour modulation are equally balanced but in ""The Tempest"", c.1510, colour modulation almost entirely replaces line creating an artistic vision in which humankind and nature are combined. Some consider the ""Tempest"" one of the most important paintings produced in Italy as the components are held together by colour and"
"Gradation (art) Gradation in art is a visual technique of gradually transitioning from one colour hue to another, or from one shade to another, or one texture to another. Space, distance, atmosphere, volume, and curved or rounded forms are some of the visual effects created with gradation. Artists use a variety of methods to create gradation, depending upon the art medium, and the precise desired effect. Blending, shading, hatching and crosshatching are common methods. A fading effect can be created with pastels by using a torchon. Gradation can also be useful in composing photographs. The early decades of the development"
"Imprimatura In painting, imprimatura is an initial stain of color painted on a ground. It provides a painter with a transparent, toned ground, which will allow light falling onto the painting to reflect through the paint layers. The term itself stems from the Italian and literally means ""first paint layer"". Its use as an underpainting layer can be dated back to the guilds and workshops during the Middle Ages; however, it came into standard use by painters during the Renaissance, particularly in Italy. The imprimatura not only provides an overall tonal optical unity in a painting but is also useful"
"Wash (visual arts) A wash is a term for a visual arts technique resulting in a semi-transparent layer of color. A wash of diluted ink or watercolor paint applied in combination with drawing is called pen and wash, wash drawing, or ink and wash. Normally only one or two colours of wash are used; if more colours are used the result is likely to be classified as a full watercolor painting. The classic East Asian tradition of literati painting, that only uses black ink in various levels of dilution, is ink wash painting. This is used, especially for landscape painting,"
"Tenebrism Tenebrism, from Italian ' (""dark, gloomy, mysterious""), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using profoundly pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image. The technique was developed to add drama to an image through a spotlight effect, and was popular in Baroque painting. Tenebrism is used only to obtain a dramatic impact while chiaroscuro is a broader term, also covering the use of less extreme contrasts of light to enhance the illusion of three-dimensionality. The term is somewhat vague, and tends to"
"out the composition. This first layer can be adjusted before proceeding further, an advantage over the ""cartooning"" method used in fresco technique. After this layer dries, the artist might then proceed by painting a ""mosaic"" of color swatches, working from darkest to lightest. The borders of the colors are blended together when the ""mosaic"" is completed, and then left to dry before applying details. Artists in later periods, such as the Impressionist era (late 19th century), often expanded on this wet-on-wet method, blending the wet paint on the canvas without following the Renaissance-era approach of layering and glazing. This method"
"Unione According to the theory of the art historian Marcia B. Hall, which has gained considerable acceptance, unione (/uˈnjone/) is one of four modes of painting colours available to Italian High Renaissance painters, along with sfumato, chiaroscuro and cangiante. Unione was developed by Raphael, who exemplified it in the Stanza della Segnatura. Unione is similar to sfumato, but is more useful for the edges of chiaroscuro, where vibrant colors are involved. As with chiaroscuro, ""unione"" conveys the contrasts, and as sfumato it strives for harmony and unity, but also for coloristic richness. Unione is softer than chiaroscuro in the search"
"Camaïeu Camaïeu (also called ""en camaïeu"") is a technique that employs two or three tints of a single color, other than gray, to create a monochromatic image without regard to local or realistic color. When a picture is monochromatically rendered in gray, it is called grisaille; when in yellow, cirage. The term is also applied to monochrome painting in enamels. This technique uses a buildup of white enamel to create highlights and light areas. However, instead of using a black background, as in grisaille, transparent enamel is laid in first, beneath the whites. This technique is frequently used on snuffboxes,"
"over a uniform colour” to indicate relief and volume. These two were previously used by monks in the illustration of religious manuscripts. The addition of these two techniques to skiagraphia was instrumental in the evolution of chiaroscuro. Giotto, a Florentine painter, and Cimabue, Giotto's teacher, used chiaroscuro in their late Gothic painting as well, by mixing large amounts of white into the painting, therefore creating an easy transition between tones. In frescoes, mosaics, and manuscript illuminations, artists like Master Honore, a French manuscript painter, and Pietro, a painter and mosaic designer active in the Middle Ages, modelled from underneath with"
"Italian Renaissance painting. ""Buon fresco"" pigment is mixed with room temperature water and is used on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, called the intonaco (after the Italian word for plaster). Because of the chemical makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco, which itself becomes the medium holding the pigment. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries in reaction to air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. The"
"used by Flemish painters, referred to as the ""dead layer,"" is applied over the traditional bone colour (one part raw umber to one part yellow ochre) priming to refine the values and remove the warm tone of the primer. The resulting ""white to olive green to black"" underpainting is ""like being illuminated by moonlight."" It does not affect the tonality of the final painting. Verdaccio Verdaccio is an Italian name for the mixture of black, white, and yellow pigments resulting in a grayish or yellowish (depending on the proportion) soft greenish brown. Verdaccio became an integral part of fresco painting,"
"the root noun of ""impasto"" is ""pasta"", whose primary meaning in Italian is ""paste"". Oil paint is the traditional medium for impasto painting, due to its thick consistency and slow drying time. Acrylic paint can also be used for impasto by adding heavy body acrylic gels. Impasto is generally not seen done in watercolor or tempera without the addition of thickening agent due to the inherent thinness of these media. An artist working in pastels can produce a limited impasto effect by pressing a soft pastel firmly against the paper. The impasto technique serves several purposes. First, it makes the"
"Sgraffito Sgraffito (; plural: ""sgraffiti""; sometimes spelled scraffito) is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in pottery, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip or glaze, and then in either case scratching so as to reveal parts of the underlying layer. The Italian past participle ""sgraffiato"" is also used, especially of pottery. ""Sgraffito"" and ""Sgraffiti"" derive from the Italian word ""graffiare"" (""to scratch""), ultimately from the Greek (""gráphein"", ""to write""). Related terms include graffito and graffiti. Sgraffito on walls"
"art historian Marcia B. Hall, which has gained considerable acceptance, ""sfumato"" is one of four modes of painting colours available to Italian High Renaissance painters, along with ""cangiante"", chiaroscuro and ""unione"". The word ""sfumato"" comes from the Italian language and is derived from ""fumo"" (""smoke"", ""fume""). ""Sfumato"" translated into English means ""soft, vague or blurred"". In Italian the word is often used as an adjective (like ""biondo sfumato"" for ""pale blonde"" hair) or as a verb (""l'affare è sfumato"" would mean ""the deal has gone up in smoke""). The use of the term (unlike some others) dates back to the"
"us to escape from this vagueness in the design of colour. Ozenfant’s revised thoughts on the importance of colour were partly due to the influence of the artist Paul Signac and his theories on Divisionism. Signac maintained that the Neo-Impressionist technique of applying brushstrokes obtained the maximum brightness, colour, and harmony. Unlike the techniques used by the earlier Impressionists, patches of colours remained distinct, blending when viewed at a distance. In this instance, when no fusion of the colours takes place, the interaction is called “simultaneous contrast”, a condition in which colours merely influence one another by proximity. This technique"