: decoration in tones of a single color and especially gray designed to produce a three-dimensional effect
Examples of grisaille in a Sentence
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Only in the 1980s would Ruscha consent to pick up a spray gun, in large-scale, word-free grisailles of an elephant climbing a hill, or two ships tossed at sea.
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Jason Farago, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
The 18k rose gold model, the Galaxia, has a more extensive grisaille instead of a lattice grid.
—Carol Besler, Robb Report, 18 Apr. 2022
In fact, to render Black skin tones, Sherald uses grisaille, a method of using gray monochromes, historically used to render or imitate sculpture.
—Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
The technique was popular during the 1880s, and grisaille paintings were often featured in illustrated editions of the author’s works.
—Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Jan. 2020
The tonality is gray, or grisaille, because this is the underpainting, in the old-master technique, that Elizabeth learned at art school.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2018
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Jason Farago, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
The 18k rose gold model, the Galaxia, has a more extensive grisaille instead of a lattice grid.
—Carol Besler, Robb Report, 18 Apr. 2022
In fact, to render Black skin tones, Sherald uses grisaille, a method of using gray monochromes, historically used to render or imitate sculpture.
—Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
The technique was popular during the 1880s, and grisaille paintings were often featured in illustrated editions of the author’s works.
—Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Jan. 2020
The tonality is gray, or grisaille, because this is the underpainting, in the old-master technique, that Elizabeth learned at art school.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Grisaille.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grisaille. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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