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alla prima

[ ah-luh pree-muh ]
/ ˈɑ lə ˈpri mə /

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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Nearby words

  1. all-weather,
  2. all-wheel drive,
  3. all-year,
  4. alla breve,
  5. alla marcia,
  6. alla vostra salute,
  7. allachesthesia,
  8. allah,
  9. allahabad,
  10. allahu akbar

Origin of alla prima

< Italian: literally, at the first
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
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