basso relievo
- noun
- /ˈbæs.oʊ rɪˈliː.voʊ/
- Specialized
:
bajo relieve
- The museum's ancient frieze features a beautiful example of basso relievo depicting a parade of horses.
Examples
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She enjoyed creating basso relievo panels because of the subtlety they offered.
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In art class, we studied how basso relievo differs from higher forms of relief sculpture.
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Look at that beautiful basso relievo!
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The artist created a stunning basso relievo for the new museum.
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The museum's ancient frieze features a beautiful example of basso relievo depicting a parade of horses.
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She enjoyed creating basso relievo panels because of the subtlety they offered.
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In art class, we studied how basso relievo differs from higher forms of relief sculpture.
Synonyms
16
7.3
A carved design that stands out from a flat surface, like on a coin
2
9.3
A sculpture with figures that stick out a little from a flat background
A shallow carving in which figures just slightly stand out from the background
A style of sculpture where shapes stand out a little from a flat background with no part fully separate
A carved design on a wall that stands out from a flat background
A raised image carved into a flat surface that stands out from the background
How Raised
- Specialized
1
8.2
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
basso + relievo
The meaning 'slightly raised from a flat background' is directly derivable if a learner knows 'basso' (low) and 'relievo' (relief sculpture): together they transparently mean 'low relief'. Although this is a loanphrase and 'basso' is not English, the compositional logic mirrors cross‑linguistic forms (e.g. French bas‑relief), so the sense is immediately predictable for learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Basso relievo comes from Italian: basso means 'low' and relievo means 'relief'. Imagine figures only a little raised from a flat background, and that is why the term names a sculpture style where the shapes stand out very slightly.