: the definition of form in painting without abrupt outline by the blending of one tone into another
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebHer soft hair has been rendered with smoky, blurry brush strokes that anticipate Leonardo’s mastery of sfumato by decades. Jason Farago, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2020 So, for all the hype surrounding it, the exhibition offers a precious opportunity to find a bit of focus in the fog, to draw something substantial out of the sfumato.Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2019 That’s because the artist’s famed sfumato technique—a blurring of outlines—gives the painting an ethereal quality that is exceedingly hard to mimic on a sentient face. Claudia Kalb, National Geographic, 6 June 2019 Resounding and joyful, the rich complexity of its sound evokes the luminescence of Leonardo’s paintings—a musical sfumato with soft edges and lingering tones. Claudia Kalb, National Geographic, 12 June 2019 But Leonardo’s ability to blur the line between reality and imagination, just like his sfumato technique for blurring the lines of a painting, was a key to his creativity. Walter Isaacson, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2017
Word History
Etymology
Italian, from past participle of sfumare to evaporate