What is a glaze?

What is a glaze?

• A. A white ground for paintings.
• B. A glaze
• C. A thick impasto technique.
• D. A protective varnish for oils.

Answer: (B)

A glaze is a thin, transparent layer of color applied over a dried paint layer to change its hue, value, or brightness. This layering lets underlying details show through while subtly shifting the overall color and adding depth and luminosity. It’s not the white ground used to prime a surface, it isn’t a thick, textured impasto, and it isn’t a protective varnish—the glaze’s purpose is to modulate color, not to build texture or seal the painting.

A glaze is a thin, transparent layer of color applied over a dried paint layer to change its hue, value, or brightness. This layering lets underlying details show through while subtly shifting the overall color and adding depth and luminosity. It’s not the white ground used to prime a surface, it isn’t a thick, textured impasto, and it isn’t a protective varnish—the glaze’s purpose is to modulate color, not to build texture or seal the painting.