underpainting

[uhn-der-peyn-ting]

noun

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

underpainting

/ ˈʌndəˌpeɪntɪŋ /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of underpainting¹

First recorded in 1865–70; under- + painting

Example Sentences

It’s a draft, what’s called an underpainting.

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Today this painting—this underpainting—is among the most famous artworks in the Uffizi, the Florence museum stuffed with famous paintings.

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In addition to the impasto fireworks, subtle red underpainting is glimpsed beneath the greenish brown color of the back wall and the black jacket, yielding smoldering life to what could have been just tired passages of dark flat color.

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Their research was initially hobbled by the pandemic, and other factors, but last spring MacDonald-Korth used high-tech equipment to study the underpainting and trace the elements of the paints used in the original in Philadelphia.

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It’s as if the small images are underpainting that peeks through the cobalt surface.

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