grisaille

[gri-zahy, -zeyl, gree-zah-y^uh]

noun

plural

grisailles 

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.

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Bellow, however, could still stop for a sauvignon blanc and a plate of charcuterie when the “Parisian grisaille” — that depthless monochrome that can envelop even the Eiffel Tower — gave him the January blues.

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This much was evident in the largely grisaille efforts in her 2016 show at Marian Goodman, where a new softness of line prevailed.

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She painted images clipped from magazines in slightly fogged-in grisaille, as if suffused with tragedy.

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In 1938, she painted the intriguing grisaille oil “Stargazing in Texas.”

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