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Glite Dictionary
🏰 A sloped defense 🎨 A paint layer
glacis

glacis

9.9
A thin clear layer of paint that you put over another to change its color or tone
  • noun
  • /ˈɡleɪsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : glacis
  • The artist finished the portrait by applying a thin glacis to deepen the shadows and unify tones.

Examples

  • A subtle glacis can give a painting a luminous, glowing effect that is hard to achieve otherwise.

  • She learned to use a glacis to adjust the warmth of the background without repainting the entire area.

  • The artist applied a glacis to enhance the painting's depth.

  • She used a glacis to give the canvas a soft sheen.

  • The artist finished the portrait by applying a thin glacis to deepen the shadows and unify tones.

  • A subtle glacis can give a painting a luminous, glowing effect that is hard to achieve otherwise.

  • She learned to use a glacis to adjust the warmth of the background without repainting the entire area.

Synonyms

glaze
vsglacis
43 3.7

A smooth shiny coating on food or pottery

is narrower, referring to thin transparent painting layers used to alter tone
glazing
vsglacis
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A thin clear layer of paint put over another to change color or tone

is the painting term that also covers using an extra coating to change tone
clear glaze
vsglacis
  • Specialized
4.1

A clear, thin layer put on wood or other surfaces to protect them and make them look shiny

is focused on thin paint layers used mainly to change color or finish in painting

How Thick

impasto
  • Specialized
1 9.8
varnish
12 4.4
glaze
43 3.7
glacis
  • Specialized
9.9
wash
  • Specialized
10 6.7

Surface Forms

glacis singular
glacises plural

Etymology

Glacis comes from the French word glace, meaning 'ice' or 'glaze', and gives the image of a thin, smooth cover; imagine a glossy skin laid over paint. So a painter's glacis is a thin, clear layer put over colours to change their tone or shine.