grisaille

[ gri-zahy, -zeyl; French gree-zah-yuh ]

noun

, plural gri·sailles [gri-, zahyz, -, zeylz, g, r, ee-, zah, -y, uh]

1. monochromatic painting in shades of gray.
2. a work of art, as a painting or stained-glass window, executed in grisaille.

grisaille

/ ɡrizɑj; ɡrɪˈzeɪl /

noun

1. a technique of monochrome painting in shades of grey, as in an oil painting or a wall decoration, imitating the effect of relief
2. a painting, stained glass window, etc, in this manner

Word History and Origins

Origin of grisaille¹

1840–50; < French: painted in gray monotone, equivalent to gris gray + -aille noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of grisaille¹

C19: from French, from gris grey

Example Sentences

A planned exhibition of his grisaille paintings at the Whitney Museum of American Art had to be canceled.

From New York Times

In 1962 he embarked on a series of larger-than-life-size portraits in gray and white, a style known as grisaille.

From New York Times

Speaking to the art historian Barbara Flynn in 1991 for her monograph “Alfred Leslie: The Grisaille Paintings, 1962-1967,” Mr. Leslie said: “I wanted to leave out all the so-called niceties surrounding the picture, the personal touch, beautiful paint handling, color, action, storytelling, and just present the picture of a person unequivocally, without any excuses, and simply say, ‘Here.

From New York Times

The partnership’s stated aim is the conservation, preservation and transmission of rare artistic crafts, including champlevé and grisaille enameling, stone marquetry, micro-mosaics and metal hand-engraving, all of which were applied in crafting the new wristwatch collection.

From New York Times

In most of the works here, the grisaille forms of well-dressed men and women from Peter Arno’s New Yorker cartoons fill the background, providing a quiet imaginary audio of squabbling couples, inappropriate remarks and unexpected quips.

From New York Times