Sgraffito

Palazzo Massimo Istoriato: a fading palace facade in Rome by Polidoro da Caravaggio and Maturino da Firenze, 1523
Artist from Pedraza creates a sgraffito mural at the Casa de los Picos School of Art and Design, Segovia
Artist from Pedraza creates a sgraffito mural at the Casa de los Picos School of Art and Design, Segovia

Sgraffito (Italian: [zɡrafˈfiːto]; pl. sgraffiti) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, and on pottery by applying two successive layers of contrasting slip or glaze to an unfired ceramic body.[1] The Italian past participle sgraffiato is also used for this technique, especially in reference to pottery.

  1. ^ Sgraffito. In: Weyer, Angela; Roig Picazo, Pilar; Pop, Daniel; Cassar, JoAnn; Özköse, Aysun; Jean-Marc, Vallet; Srša, Ivan (Ed.) (2015). Weyer, Angela; Roig Picazo, Pilar; Pop, Daniel; Cassar, JoAnn; Özköse, Aysun; Vallet, Jean-Marc; Srša, Ivan (eds.). EwaGlos. European Illustrated Glossary Of Conservation Terms For Wall Paintings And Architectural Surfaces. Petersberg: Michael Imhof. p. 102. doi:10.5165/hawk-hhg/233.