pentimento
Canvas layer bleeding
Pentimento is the reappearance in a painting of earlier images or brushstrokes that the artist painted over.
As pigments become more transparent with age, previous compositions show through—a repositioned hand, an abandoned figure, a changed background.
The term comes from Italian for repentance, suggesting the artist's change of mind.
By extension, pentimento describes any trace of something concealed that becomes visible over time: The pentimento of her former accent emerged when she was tired.
Revealing something hidden
- emergenceComing into existence
- visibleAble to be seen
- ghostingAbruptly ceasing all communication
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
shadow · earlier · beneath · surface · infrared · imaging · detection · evidence
Preliminary painted foundation
- overpaintingApplying pigment over existing layers
- layeringForming successive strata
- glazingGlossy protective coating
- gessoAbsorbent primer for canvases
primer · pigment · oil · canvas · linseed · turpentine · varnish · medium
Altering to improve
- correctionFixing of mistakes
- modificationAct of altering something
- changeTo make different
- reworkingModifying something already made
adjustment · repositioning · composition · amendment · transformation · evolution · shift · reconfiguration
Stacked levels or coatings
- historyRecord of past events
- memoryMind's retention capacity
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
- erasureAct of wiping away
overwriting · vestige · remnant · echo · ghost · accumulation · archaeology · stratigraphy
Preventing waste or loss
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- cleaningRemoving dirt and mess
- examinationMethodical assessment or review
documentation · provenance · dating · laboratory · scientific · technical · imaging · preservation
uncovering
Revealing something hidden
trace · shadow · earlier · beneath · surface · infrared · imaging · detection · evidence · underlying
underpainting
Preliminary painted foundation
- overpaintingApplying pigment over existing layers
- layeringForming successive strata
- glazingGlossy protective coating
gesso · primer · pigment · oil · canvas · linseed · turpentine · varnish · medium · tempera
revision
Altering to improve
- correctionFixing of mistakes
- modificationAct of altering something
- changeTo make different
reworking · adjustment · repositioning · composition · amendment · transformation · evolution · shift · reconfiguration · overpainting
layers
Stacked levels or coatings
erasure · overwriting · vestige · remnant · echo · ghost · accumulation · archaeology · stratigraphy · sediment
conservation
Preventing waste or loss
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- cleaningRemoving dirt and mess
examination · documentation · provenance · dating · laboratory · scientific · technical · imaging · preservation · reversibility
repentant, penitent, repentance, repent, impenitent, repenting, repented, impenitence, repenter