alto relievo
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Italian for "high relief." A term used in sculpture for figures in wood, stone, marble, etc., so cut as to project at least one-half from the tablet.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “alto relievo” mean?
Italian for "high relief." A term used in sculpture for figures in wood, stone, marble, etc., so cut as to project at least one-half from the tablet.
Is “alto relievo” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.