Carlton Hobbs 9184

August 25 2009, 2:47pm

Term of the Day: Grisaille 8/26/09

A pair of grisaille studies depicting Hercules and Cronos, in the manner of Antonio Verrio. Grisaille is a style of painting in monochrome to create the appearance that the painted subject is actually a solid object. Grisaille paintings are usually done in shades of grey, from which the technique takes its name, and the subjects are often conceived as trompe l'oeils of stone sculptures in relief, or of statuary. The present examples show Hercules and Cronos, two figures from Greek mythology, painted in shades of grey with modeling that makes them appear to be statues carved from stone. Wall paintings "en grisaille" were particularly popular in the early 17th century, though the technique had been used for hundreds of years before that, particularly in devotional art including the famous Arena Chapel paintings by Giotto (c. 1300), and the Ghent Alterpiece by Jan van Eyck (c. 1430).

To learn more about these paintings, visit: bit.ly/CH-9184