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

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

Environed thus, and with a peculiarly Italian morbidezza, or plasticity we find Machiavelli.

From Brann the Iconoclast — Volume 10 by Brann, William Cowper

But if it is less beautiful such beauty as it has is free from the slightest morbidezza.

From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1 From the Beginning to 1800 by Saintsbury, George

He was compared to Sorolla y Bastida for vitality; the morbidezza of his flesh-tints was stated to be unrivalled even by—I forget the name, painting is not my speciality.

From The Grim Smile of the Five Towns by Bennett, Arnold

The back is bony and rather angular; the torso is brilliantly wrought, with a purity of outline and a morbidezza which made the artists in Vasari's time believe the figure had been moulded from life.

From Donatello, by Lord Balcarres by Crawford, David Lindsay, Earl of