Dictionary

alto-relievo en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Italian alto- Italian rilievo Italian altorilievobor. English alto-relievo Borrowed from Italian altorilievo (“high relief”).

Meanings

1. (countable, qualifier:sculpture, uncountable) A form of sculpture in which carved figures or other objects protrude from the background.
   • Nobody is in the great pew of the Clavering family, except the statues of defunct baronets and their ladies: there is Sir Poyntz Clavering, Knight and Baronet, kneeling in a square beard opposite his wife in a ruff: a very fat lady, the Dame Rebecca Clavering, in alto-relievo, is borne up to Heaven by two little blue-veined angels, who seem to have a severe task—and so forth. 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 15, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

Forms

Antonyms

low relief · basso-relievo · basso-rilievo · bas-relief

Synonyms

high relief