Underpainting

Underpainting

In art, an underpainting is an initial layer of paint applied to a ground, which serves as a base for subsequent layers of paint. Underpaintings are often monochromatic and help to define colour values for later painting. There are several different types of underpainting, such as verdaccio and grisaille.

Underpainting gets its name because it is painting that is intended to be painted over (see overpainting) in a system of working in layers. There is a popular misconception that underpainting should be monochromatic, perhaps in gray-scales. In fact, a multi-color underpainting is much more useful and was used extensively by artists such as Giotto (whose technique is described in detail by Cennino Cennini), as well as by Jan van Eyck and Roger 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.

External links

* [http://www.artandperception.com/2006/12/colorful-underpainting.html Contemporary use of colorful underpainting in the tradition of Jan van Eyck]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • underpainting —    The layer or layers of color on a painting surface applied before the overpainting, or final coat. There are many types of underpainting. One type is an all over tinting of a white ground. Another is a blocked out image in diluted oil paints… …   Glossary of Art Terms

  • underpainting — noun Date: 1866 preliminary painting; especially such painting done on a canvas or panel and covered completely or partially by the final layers of paint …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • underpainting — /un deuhr payn ting/, n. the first coat of paint, esp. the initial painting on a canvas in which the major areas, tones, colors, and forms are indicated in mass. [1865 70; UNDER + PAINTING] * * * …   Universalium

  • underpainting — noun An initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers …   Wiktionary

  • underpainting — noun paint subsequently overlaid with another layer or with a finishing coat …   English new terms dictionary

  • underpainting — /ˈʌndəˌpeɪntɪŋ/ (say unduh.paynting) noun 1. a preliminary painting, usually in monochrome, done on a canvas or panel to establish the design and tone values of the final composition. 2. any layer or layers of colour on a painting surface beneath …  

  • underpainting — ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ noun : preliminary painting; specifically : such painting done on a canvas or panel and covered completely or partially by the final layers of paint …   Useful english dictionary

  • Verdaccio — is an Italian name for the mixture of mars black and yellow ochre resulting in a grayish or yellowish (depending on the proportion) soft green. Verdaccio became integral part of fresco painting where this color is used for defining tonal values,… …   Wikipedia

  • painting — /payn ting/, n. 1. a picture or design executed in paints. 2. the act, art, or work of a person who paints. 3. the works of art painted in a particular manner, place, or period: a book on Flemish painting. 4. an instance of covering a surface… …   Universalium

  • Overpainting — can mean the final layers of paint, over some type of underpainting, in a system of working in layers. It can also mean later paint added by restorers, or an artist or dealer wishing to improve or update an old image a very common practice in the …   Wikipedia

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