Italian Terms

Sgraffito

A decorative technique in which a surface layer is scratched or cut through to expose a contrasting layer beneath.

Sottile

Italian for thin, slender, subtle, or fine.

Squadra a Smusso

A bevel square or adjustable bevel tool used to transfer, measure, and reproduce angled cuts or inclined surfaces in sculpture, stone carving, woodworking, and architectural drafting.

Subbia da Taglio

A cutting point chisel used in marble and stone carving for aggressive material removal and directional shaping during the early carving stages.

Unghietto

A small carving chisel with a curved or fingernail-shaped cutting profile used for delicate refinement and controlled surface transitions in sculpture and marble carving.

Verismo

A mode of uncompromising realism, especially associated in sculpture with Roman Republican portraiture and, more broadly, with representations that emphasize age, texture, asymmetry, and individual physical character rather than idealization.

Disegno

The Renaissance idea of drawing-as-design — the intellectual concetto underlying all the arts.

Atlante

A male figure used in place of a column to support an entablature or cornice; the male counterpart of the caryatid. Plural: atlanti.

Bel Composto

Bernini's principle of the total, unified artwork — sculpture, architecture, and light fused into one inseparable design.

Bozzetti

The sculptor's small preliminary clay or wax model, used to resolve pose and composition before carving in marble.