alla prima

[ ah-luh-pree-muh ]

/ ˈɑ lə ˈpri mə /

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noun Fine Arts.

a painting technique in which a canvas is completed in one session, often having a thickly applied impasto.

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Origin of alla prima

<Italian: literally, at the first

Words nearby alla prima

all'antica, allantoic, allantoid, allantoin, allantois, alla prima, allargando, all-around, al-Lat, allative, all at once

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use alla prima in a sentence

Quel che fa il pazzo all' ultimo, lo fa il savio 40 alla prima—The wise man does that at first which the fool must do at last.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for alla prima

alla prima

/ (ˈɑːlɑː ˈpriːmə) /

adjective

(of a painting) painted with a single layer of paint, in contrast to paintings built up layer by layer

Word Origin for alla prima

C19: from Italian: at once

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012