sinopia

plural sinopias · plural sinopie

1. countableuncountableA reddish-brown ochre-like pigment, derived from sinople, used in traditional oil painting and as the cartoon for frescos.

   Synonyms: sinoper

2. countableuncountableartThe rough sketch (executed in sinopia) which underlies a fresco.

   Today many of the sinopias have been uncovered by a method called stacco.

   1985, Joseph Reese Strayer, Dictionary of the Middle Ages

   1 more example

   In the course of lifting the frescoes from the walls the restorers discovered Simone's full-scale working drawings (in red chalk made from iron oxide and known as sinopie) which lay directly beneath the painted plaster [...].

   2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 89