sfumato

American  

[sfoo-mah-toh] / sfuˈmɑ toʊ /

noun

Fine Arts.

1. the subtle and minute gradation of tone and color used to blur or veil the contours of a form in painting.

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sfumato British  

/ sfuːˈmɑːtəʊ /

noun

1. (in painting) a gradual transition between areas of different colour, avoiding sharp outlines

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Etymology

Origin of sfumato

1840–50; < Italian, past participle of sfumare to gradate tone or color, equivalent to s- < Latin ex- ex- ¹ + fumare to smoke < Latin fumāre; see fume

Example Sentences

The smoky texture of the images led me to think of her technique as a kind of sfumato: shading in and out of moods of presence, absence and longing.

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2021

So, for all the hype surrounding it, the exhibition offers a precious opportunity to find a bit of focus in the fog, to draw something substantial out of the sfumato.

From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2019

Leonardo believed in sfumato, the blurring of lines, because he felt that was the way we actually see reality.

From National Geographic • Nov. 4, 2017

Actors seem to displace an image of mist—what the creative team calls "sfumato," after the Renaissance painting technique—as they move in front of it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 16, 2010

The Mona Lisa is the height of sfumato.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day