grisaille
/ɡrɪˈzʌɪ(l)
/ /ɡrɪˈzeɪl/noun [mass noun] Art
1A method of painting in grey monochrome, typically to imitate sculpture: trompe l’oeil elevations painted in grisaille...
- Painted in grisaille, they show a top-hatted character wandering through hilly landscapes and inclement weather.
- Although she paints basically in grisaille, she will often add color to the figures to approximate old-fashioned hand-tinted photographs.
- The center panel, executed in grisaille, shows the dog of the title - a pointer - walking down a flight of stairs somewhat uneasily, as dogs tend to do.
1.1 [count noun] A grisaille painting or stained-glass window: fine grisailles by Hans Holbein the Elder...
- When Eddy and Sophie met he mainly painted grisailles, works in shades of grey.
- The mechanically produced grisailles are of the same high standard of quality that I have always demanded of my work.
- He made grisailles of the destitute and maimed which have a moralizing character.
Origin
Mid 19th century: French, from gris 'grey'.