Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An Anglicized form of
alto-rilievo .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Alto-rilievo.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A form of
sculpture in which carved figures or other objects whichprotrude from the background.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a sculptural relief in which forms extend out from the background to at least half their depth
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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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.
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The snow reprints it, as it were, in clear white type alto-relievo.
Walden 2004
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There is a description of what it was, in an Italian manuscript, by which it appears to have been a beautiful edifice of two stories, adorned with columns and trophies in alto-relievo, with a statue of
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Over the north gate, appear two bulls, in alto-relievo, extremely well executed, emblems which, according to the custom of the Romans, signified that the amphitheatre was erected at the expence of the people.
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Babylonish bricks; the smaller figures are much destroyed, some completely; all are in alto-relievo.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries William Griffith
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In the effeminate Antinous, an alto-relievo of whitest marble, we admire the prototype of that arrow-stricken youth, the comely St Sebastian.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 385. November, 1847. Various
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The reredos contains two modern designs in alto-relievo.
Wanderings in Wessex An Exploration of the Southern Realm from Itchen to Otter Edric Holmes
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Majesty; and an alto-relievo representing an ascending spirit attended by a guardian angel with the inscription --
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 495, June 25, 1831 Various
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It is built of Portland stone, and is adorned with a beautiful portico in the centre, consisting of four Doric columns supporting an enriched entablature, decorated with a group of figures in alto-relievo, representing Hibernia and Britannia presenting emblems of peace and liberty.
Three Years in Europe Places I Have Seen and People I Have Met William Wells Brown
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A female figure and child recumbent, also elaborately sculptured in black marble, adorn the opposite niche, and under them, in alto-relievo, are several figures in religious habits.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 54, No. 338, December 1843 Various
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