pen·ti·men·to; (p n t -mn t )
n. pl. pen·ti·men·ti (-t
 )
An underlying image in a painting, as an earlier painting, part of a painting, or original draft, that shows through, usually when the top layer of paint has become transparent with age.
[Italian, correction, pentimento, from pentire, to repent, from Latin paenit
re.] |
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pentimento. the revealing of the original, the first. the truth. "I stare, startled into absolute silence, my entire being immobile with surprise. The damp rag hangs limp in my hand and i am barely aware of the pungent sting of turpentine in my nose. This is not the original i expected to find beneath the fading image. I remember something entirely different than what is showing through as i slowly peel back the old layers. I expected it to be fatally flawed, over saturated, distorted, almost lurid in it's many exagerated details. And of course it is all of that but also much, much more..... it's full to bursting with a lively spirit that appeals to the melodramatic and extravagant side of myself. A younger, less cynicle self. The pure pigment of alizarin on lips and cheeks a siren call to be wary of the mischief that is surely brewing behind that animated expression. I become aware once again of the rag in my hand and refocus on the task at hand but with an uplifted spirit and a passionate desire to bring back to life this wildly colorful and more radiant self"
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