A painting or decorative scheme executed chiefly in shades of gray, sometimes with muted browns, often to imitate sculpture or to underpaint a work that will later bloom into color. Where monochrome is simply a single-color palette, grisaille implies intention: austerity used as illusion or foundation.

From French gris “gray,” with a suffix suggesting a style or manner. The term belongs to workshops and chapels—places where restraint can be a kind of spectacle.