staffage
- noun
- /ˈstæfɪdʒ/
- Specialized
- To show the grandeur of the mountain, the painting features several climbers as staffage in the foreground.
Examples
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The artist included small human figures in the painting as staffage to give the scene more life.
-
In some cases, Galle added figures to images that had been entirely empty of human activity in previous editions (Figs. 1-4), while in others he attempted to incorporate Cock's original staffage figures into new, more elaborate tableaux (Figs. 5, 6).
Academic text (2014) -
There are several views that contain many figures, but these are the only instances in Cock's staffage where integrated, unified activities take shape among several figures.
Academic text (2014) -
However, rather than reiterating Haussmann's much-discussed alterations to the site, I want to focus on the people who do not merely function as subordinate staffage.
Academic text (2005) -
Adding staffage to the landscape helped viewers understand the scale of the vast canyon.
Synonyms
15
5.8
Something added to make a story or thing more interesting
An extra part that adds to a main work, like a decorative border or footnotes
How Lively
Surface Forms
Etymology
Staffage comes from an old European art word for 'decoration' or 'accessory', used for the small people or animals painters add into a picture to give life and scale. A helpful way to remember it is to think of a little staff of background figures standing in the scene to make it feel real, which is why staffage means those tiny background figures.