Grisaille is a painting technique in which an image is carried out entirely in shades of grey (and sometimes brown or ochre tones), so that the illusion of relief, sculpture or stone is created. The name comes from the French gris, meaning grey.
Technique
By working only with light and dark, without colour, a flat painting appears three-dimensional. The painter builds up the form with different shades of grey, from deep shadow to bright highlight. In this way sculptures, ornaments or architecture are imitated on a flat surface.
Application
Grisaille is used in architecture in several ways:
- Stained glass — a brown-grey glass paint fired onto the glass to add detail, shadow and modelling
- Wall and ceiling paintings — imitating relief, niches and sculpture (trompe-l’oeil)
- Church art — the side panels of altarpieces and stained-glass windows
- Decorative panels — imitation of stone or plasterwork
In stained glass, grisaille is essential: without this fired paint, faces, folds and architecture could not be rendered with coloured glass and lead strips alone.
Related Terms
- Stained glass
- Painted glass
- Wall painting
- Ornament
- Decorations
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