underpainting

American  

[uhn-der-peyn-ting] / ˈʌn dərˌpeɪn tɪŋ /

noun

1. the first coat of paint, especially the initial painting on a canvas in which the major areas, tones, colors, and forms are indicated in mass.

---

underpainting British  

/ ˈʌndəˌpeɪntɪŋ /

noun

1. the first layer in a painting, indicating the design and main areas of light and shade

---

Etymology

Origin of underpainting

First recorded in 1865–70; under- + painting

Example Sentences

That’s a motif that runs through the book, the idea of the underpainting.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2022

To make a 3-D re-creation of the Picasso underpainting, Oxia Palus used an X-ray available online and guided its algorithm with paintings from the artist’s broad “Blue Period.”

From Washington Post • Dec. 28, 2021

Years later… It was examined initially at the Atheneum, where a digital X-ray revealed an underpainting that looked like a self-portrait, which added to confidence about its authenticity.

From Fox News • Apr. 1, 2019

Against a screaming yellow ground, bits of green and crimson underpainting showing through, two gangly sunflowers rise up on cut stalks from blue pitchers.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2018

Most of what I do is drawing, because the preparation of the surface, the laborious underpainting and detailed concentration of egg tempera are too much for me.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood