morbidezza

American  

[mawr-bi-det-suh, mawr-bee-det-tsah] / ˌmɔr bɪˈdɛt sə, mɔr biˈdɛt tsɑ /

noun

Fine Arts.

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

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Etymology

Origin of morbidezza

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

Example Sentences

"He can't persuade us, Lady Auriol, that he is afflicted with the morbidezza of 1830."

From The Mountebank by Locke, William John

The colouring was more soft and Roman, with the dull gleam of pearls, a distinguished pallor, morbidezza.

From The Prose Writings of Heinrich Heine by Heine, Heinrich

The Signora looked pale and sad; the colouring of her features, which can only be designated by the Italian word morbidezza, looked almost sickly.

From Withered Leaves. Vol. II. (of III) A Novel by Gottschall, Rudolf von

Perhaps only a valetudinarian would have been capable of this morbidezza of touch, this marriage of virile thought and feminine caprice.

From Amiel's Journal by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

The rather triste expression, the veiled look of the eyes, the morbidezza of the flesh tones, and the general sense of amplitude and grace give us a Fortuny who knew how to paint broadly.

From Promenades of an Impressionist by Huneker, James