morbidezza

[mawr-bi-det-suh; Italian mawr-bee-det-tsah]

noun Fine Arts.

the effect of extreme softness and delicacy in pictorial and sculptural representations.

Origin of morbidezza

1615–25; < Italian, equivalent to morbid(o) delicate (see morbid) + -ezza -ice

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for morbidezza

Historical Examples of morbidezza

He can't persuade us, Lady Auriol, that he is afflicted with the morbidezza of 1830.
The Mountebank
William J. Locke
Morbidezza, mor-bi-det′za, n. that quality of flesh-painting which gives the impression of life.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
Her light drapery is raised by the breeze, and discovers the beautiful form and morbidezza of her limbs.
Six Centuries of Painting
Randall Davies
She was tall, and her lovely arms showed through the black gauze of her dress with an exquisite roundness and morbidezza.
Suburban Sketches
William Dean Howells
They blend the morbidezza of the senses with a rare feeling for natural and artistic beauty.
Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature
John Addington Symonds