grisaille

views updated

grisaille.
1. Style of painting in grey monochrome to represent solid objects in relief, the objects being supposedly white and the shadows they project properly depicted by various grey tints. It was used on the external leaves of medieval triptych altarpieces. In Neo-Classical schemes of decoration it represents e.g. figures in Etruscan or Pompeian interiors.

2. Grey-tinted stained glass.

More From encyclopedia.com