pentimento

[ pen-tuh-men-toh ]

noun

, Painting.

, plural pen·ti·men·ti [pen-t, uh, -, men, -tee].

1. the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over.

pentimento

/ ˌpɛntɪˈmɛntəʊ /

noun

1. the revealing of a painting or part of a painting that has been covered over by a later painting
2. the part of a painting thus revealed

Word History and Origins

Origin of pentimento¹

1900–05; < Italian, equivalent to penti ( re ) to repent (< Latin paenitēre to regret) + -mento -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of pentimento¹

C20: Italian, literally: correction

Example Sentences

The yellow title casts a grayish shadow within the turquoise, a pentimento whose sign of an earlier paint layer signals a stratum of history.

From Los Angeles Times

There are holes drilled into the top and the pentimento outline of where the displaced sculpture once stood.

From Washington Post

It's so common that art historians and conservators have a word for it: pentimento.

From Salon

As in a painter’s pentimento, they peep though the present narrative, subtly revealing the author’s awareness of the world’s cruel ironies.

From Los Angeles Times

Layers of roughly built-up geometric shapes emphasize the paintings’ pentimento, which pokes through from beneath the surface, while radiant light was perhaps inspired by a visit to North Africa.

From Los Angeles Times