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Showing results for silverpoint. Search instead for silverpoints.

silverpoint

American  
[sil-ver-point] / ˈsɪl vərˌpɔɪnt /

noun

  1. a technique of drawing with a silver stylus on specially prepared paper.

  2. a drawing made by this technique.


silverpoint British  
/ ˈsɪlvəˌpɔɪnt /

noun

  1. a drawing technique popular esp in the 15th and 16th centuries, using an instrument with a silver wire tip on specially prepared paper

"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 silverpoint

First recorded in 1880–85; silver + point


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:

We see Hans Holbein the Elder’s magnificent silverpoint portrait of Mathes Roriczer, drawn about 1490.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

The lines, made with graphite or silverpoint, waver slightly; the surfaces are often smudgy or blotchy.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2022

The final price of $12.2 million was marginally better than the $11.5 million given in 2001 for Leonardo’s slightly larger silverpoint study “Horse and rider,” the previous auction high for a drawing by the artist.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2021

Laetitia Masson, an expert in old master drawings at Christie's, described silverpoint as "a very difficult technique, because it doesn't really admit any mistake".

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2021

Early on Tuesday we departed, but before that, I did Jan Prevost's portrait in silverpoint, and gave his wife 10 stivers at parting.

From Memoirs of Journeys to Venice and the Low Countries by Rudolf Tombo

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