Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The use of an object such as a curtain extremely close up to the picture plane in a painting. This originates from Baroque paintings and is used to create depth.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Note the repoussoir figure on horseback at the extreme left.

    Forgotten Master: Gyula Benczúr James Gurney 2010

  • The French word “repoussoir” refers to an object placed in the foreground of a composition that enhances the illusion of distance with other objects.

    Repoussoir James Gurney 2008

  • As I sketched, I found myself unconsciously wanting to invent a repoussoir element in the foreground to give the viewer something to hang onto.

    Archive 2008-05-01 James Gurney 2008

  • As I sketched, I found myself unconsciously wanting to invent a repoussoir element in the foreground to give the viewer something to hang onto.

    The View from Seat 23F James Gurney 2008

  • According to Odile Chilton, visiting professor of French at Bard College, “repoussoir” also conveys the sense of “strong or vigorous color or tone to make the clear and luminous parts of a painting more visible.”

    Repoussoir James Gurney 2008

  • According to Odile Chilton, visiting professor of French at Bard College, “repoussoir” also conveys the sense of “strong or vigorous color or tone to make the clear and luminous parts of a painting more visible.”

    Archive 2008-05-01 James Gurney 2008

  • The French word “repoussoir” refers to an object placed in the foreground of a composition that enhances the illusion of distance with other objects.

    Archive 2008-05-01 James Gurney 2008

  • There was no rain; there was only, all the afternoon, a mild, moist wind and a sky magnificently black; which made a _repoussoir_ for the paler cliffs of the fountain.

    A Little Tour of France Henry James 1879

  • The eldest daughter acts as a dark repoussoir to concentrate our attention on the infant heir in white, and the younger daughter supports the brat in his bold full-frontal pose

    Evening Standard - Home 2009

  • Shadows chiaroscuro repoussoir the material’s ghosts which are stiffening the arrangement the scenery the Cave

    Archive 2009-09-01 David McDuff 2009

Comments

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  • Repoussoir is a painting technique that uses a dark element in the foreground to enhance the feeling of depth.

    March 27, 2023