impasto
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impasto
(ĭmpăs`tō, –pä`stō), thickly applied paint that projects from the picture surface. Such works as Childe Hassam's Allies Day (1917; National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.) and Hans Hoffman's abstraction In Upper Regions (1963; David N. Marks Coll.) exploit to advantage the vigorous effect inherent in impasto technique.The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Impasto
the thick, uneven application of paint to a canvas or to a ground. The surface’s resulting sculptural quality, which is sometimes quite marked, often consists of the very strokes applied by the brush or palette knife. The areas with the thickest application of paint are most prominent.
The use of impasto, which in the past was often combined with a thin application of pigments in the dark areas of a painting, intensifies the emotional expressiveness of a work and conveys the textures of objects most convincingly, revealing the sculptural possibilities of the paint itself.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
impasto
[im′pä·stō] (graphic arts)
The thick, heavy application of oil paint to a canvas, often with a palette knife; impasto sections stand out in considerable relief.
The thick application of polymer or other paint to any surface.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
impasto
In painting, the thick laying of pigments.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
impasto
1. paint applied thickly, so that brush and palette knife marks are evident
2. the technique of applying paint in this way
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005