The term
alla prima or
premier coup painting, also known as
direct painting refers to a method by which the artist applies each stroke of paint to the canvas with the intention of letting it stand in the picture as part of the final statement. There is to be no retouching or overpainting after the first layer of paint has dried. [
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alla prima - (pronounced ah-la pree-ma) - Italian term, meaning to paint on canvas or other ground directly, in full, opaque color, without any preliminary drawing or underpainting done first. Underpainting is often done to establish the larger masses of the composition, or to establish tonal values (lights and darks). [
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Alla prima is a style of painting where, instead of building colors up with layers or glazing over an underpainting, the painting is completed while the paint is still wet. Strictly defined, an
alla prima painting would be started and finished in one painting session, but the term is also more loosely applied to any painting done in a direct, expressive style, with minimal preparation.
Alla prima comes from Italian, literally meaning "at once". The French term is
premier coup.
Famous painters who worked in an
alla prima style are as diverse as
Paul Cezanne,
John Singer Sargent,
Mary Cassatt,
Winslow Homer,
Caravaggio,
Hieronymus Bosch, and
Frans Hals. [
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