Grisaille ( or ; , from gris 'grey') means in general any European painting that is painted in grey.
History
Giotto used grisaille in the lower registers of his frescoes in the
Scrovegni Chapel in Padua () and
Robert Campin, Jan van Eyck and their successors painted grisaille figures on the outsides of the wings of
, including the
Ghent Altarpiece. Originally these were the sides on display for most of the time, as the doors were normally kept closed except on feast days or at the (paid) request of tourists. However, today these images are typically unseen in museums, the triptych displayed in its open state, flat against a wall. In these cases, imitation of sculpture was intended, as sculpture remained more expensive than a painting, even one by an acknowledged master.
often produced illuminated manuscripts in pen and watercolour with a very limited colour range, and many artists such as Jean Pucelle (active 1320–1350) and Matthew Paris specialised in such work, which had been especially common in England since Anglo-Saxon art times. Renaissance artists such as Andrea Mantegna and Polidoro da Caravaggio often used grisaille to imitate the effect of a classical relief or Roman painting.
In the Low Countries, a continuous tradition of grisaille painting can be traced from Early Netherlandish painting to Martin Heemskerck (1498–1574), Pieter Brueghel the Elder ( Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, 1565) and Hendrik Goltzius, and through the copious output of Adriaen van de Venne, to the circle of Rembrandt and Jan van Goyen.
Portions of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are executed in grisaille, as is the lower section of the great staircase decoration by Antonio Verrio ( 1636 – 1707) at Hampton Court.
Modern examples
Grisaille, while less widespread in the 20th century, persists as an artistic technique.
Pablo Picasso painting
Guernica (1937) stands as a prominent example.
Contemporary American painter Hugo Bastidas has become known for black-and-white paintings that imitate the effect of grisaille and often resemble black-and-white photographs. His medium- and large-scale paintings feature contrasting zones of high and low detail.
Enamel and stained glass
The term is also applied to monochrome painting in other media such as those involving
vitreous enamel, in which an effect similar to a
relief in silver may be intended. Grisaille is also common in
stained glass, as the need for sections in different colours is greatly reduced, such as York Minster's Five Sisters window. Portions of a window may be done in grisaille using, for example,
silver stain or vitreous paint, while other sections are coloured glass.
Brunaille and verdaille
Monochrome work is sometimes executed in colours other than grey: a
brunaille is a painting executed entirely or primarily in shades of brown, while a
verdaille is the same for green. Such works are said to have been painted
en brunaille or
en verdaille, respectively.
[Christie’s, Sale 2437, Old Master Pictures, lot 51, Amsterdam, Christie’s, 8 November 1999][Christie’s, Sale 1380, Old Master Paintings, lot 49, New York, Christie’s, 17 June 2004]
Brunaille and verdaille painting both have their roots in 12th century stained glass made for Cistercians monasteries, which prohibited the use of coloured art in 1134. The term "brunaille" was first used to refer to all-brown paintings in the 17th century.
Gallery
File:WLA brooklynmuseum Molded Tile mid19th century.jpg|Molded tile, mid-19th century Iran, Brooklyn Museum
File:Master of Frankfurt, Two Saints, St. Odilia and St. Cecilia, ca. 1503–1506, oil on panel, 44 1-2 x 26 3-4 in., Historisches Museum, Frankfurt..jpg|Master of Frankfurt, Saint Odile and Saint Cecilia, ca. 1503–1506, oil on panel, Historical Museum, Frankfurt
File:Giotto - Scrovegni - -49- - Infidelity.jpg|Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Infidelity
File:Andrea del castagno, momumento a niccolò da tolentino.jpg|Andrea del Castagno, monument to Niccolò da Tolentino
File:Jan van Eyck 054.jpg|Jan van Eyck, Annunciation (Gabriel is on the opposite wing)
File:Hieronymus Bosch 010.jpg|Triptych shutter outside panel by Hieronymus Bosch
File:Artist mia laberge at kennedy center unveil of art case steinway.jpg|2008 unveiling ceremony at The Kennedy Center of a Steinway Art Case piano painted in grisaille
File:Frans Francken II by Anthony van Dyck.jpg|Frans Francken II by Anthony van Dyck, one of a series of studies for portrait prints
File:Willet-holthuysen-jdewit.jpg|Trompe-l'œil wall grisaille in Amsterdam by Jacob de Wit, 1730s
File:2290 - Milano - Palazzo Greppi (1776) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 20-May-2007.jpg|Italian palace staircase, 18th century
File:David patroclus mimsstudios grisaille.jpg|Student copy in grisaille after Jacques-Louis David''[ Old Masters Academy]
File:Tondo St Peter MNMA Cl23759.jpg|Window of St. Peter: Stained glass (white glass, grisaille and silver sulfide) and lead, France, ca. 1500–1510
File:Ingres Odalisque in Grisaille.jpg| Odalisque in Grisaille, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and his workshop
See also
-
Aizuri-e — prints executed primarily or entirely in blue
-
Monochrome painting — abstract art executed in a single color
-
Pablo Picasso's Blue Period and Rose Period
-
Sepia tone (photography)
-
Zorn palette
-
Valmer Castle
External links
