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secco

American  
[sek-oh, sek-kaw] / ˈsɛk oʊ, ˈsɛk kɔ /

noun

  1. fresco secco.


adjective

  1. (of notes or passages in a musical score) played and released abruptly and without resonance.

secco British  
/ ˈsɛkəʊ /

noun

  1. wall painting done on dried plaster with tempera or pigments ground in limewater Compare fresco

  2. any wall painting other than true fresco

"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

Etymology

Origin of secco

1850–55; < Italian: dry; see sack 3

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In terms of lost art, nothing has received quite the press of Leonardo’s unfinished fresco secco.

From The Guardian May 18, 2018

Spectrophotometry images showed restorers where Michelangelo had used the secco technique -- adding color after the plaster had dried -- which requires more care in cleaning.

From Time Magazine Archive

True fresco did not include the use of glue sizing and dark washes a secco.

From Time Magazine Archive

But it had been applied secco; now, after 400 years, its adhesion is fragile, and the crystals in some areas have been irreparably bleached to a dull gray by cleaning.

From Time Magazine Archive

His favourite method in wall-painting was to lay in his compositions in fresco and finish them a secco with a mixture of yolk of egg and liquid varnish.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" by Various

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