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Sinopia

 
 

Red earth pigment, also known as porphyry or terra di Sinope. The term is more commonly used for a preparatory underdrawing in FRESCO painting (see fig.) in which the whole pictorial composition is drawn, usually in sinopia, directly on to the wall or on to the rough plaster (arriccio).

See the Abbreviations for further details.



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WordNet: sinopia
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a red ocher formerly used as a pigment
  Synonyms: sinopis, sinoper


 
Wikipedia: Sinopia
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Sinopia is a reddish-brown ocher-like earth color pigment used in traditional oil painting. It is used for the cartoon or underpainting for a fresco. It is composed of iron oxides, from a kind of clay or quartz called sinople.

Sinopia was written about by Cennino Cennini in "Il Livro del Arte" in the 15th century and described as, "A natural color known as sinoper, or porphyry, is red; and this color is lean and dry in character. It stands working up well; for the more it is worked up, the finer it becomes. It is good for use on panel or anconas, or on the wall, in fresco or in secco..." Cennini follows this discussion with a look at a special kind of sinopia used in Florence for painting flesh colors.

See also


 
 
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sinopia
Arricio (art)
di Niccol? Pietro Gerini (art)

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Art Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Art. Copyright © 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sinopia" Read more