Illustrated Architecture Dictionary ...................... Grisaille stained glass
Grisaille painting
(griz EYE, ZAIL)
Painting executed entirely in monochrome or near-monochrome, usually in shades of gray.
French word that means "gray tones."
Monochrome painting executed in gray tone values ranging from dark to light, transparent to opaque, flat to reflective, and sometimes from warm to cool.
A grisaille may be executed for the following reasons:
- its own sake
- underpainting for an oil painting (in preparation for glazing layers of color over it)
- a model for an engraver to work from
Paintings executed in brown are sometimes referred to by the more specific term brunaille, and paintings executed in green are sometimes called verdaille.
Grisaille was used particularly by the 15th-century Flemish painters and in the late 18th century to imitate classical sculpture in wall and ceiling decoration.
See also: Grisaille stained glass
Examples:
