''This article is about the growing transparency in paints with age. It is also the title of a book by playwright Lillian Hellman

In painting, pentimento is the growing transparency in paints with age causing underlying elements to show through. This can often show the original artists underpainting or show signs that the painting was later altered.

The term is being used in a modern sense for the fading sign on the sides of buildings. Many times they are painted over with newer ads and the paint wears away to reveal the layers.

Examples of this can be found at http://www.fadingad.com and http://www.frankjump.com that had been taken by Frank H. Jump in Amsterdam, 1998. The caption was "Amsterdam August 1998- This an example of what I call "ediglyph" - where fading ads and graffiti intersect". http://www.fadingad.com/009.html

Another example is the Coca-Cola-Mecca Smokes Pentimento at http://www.frankjump.com/020.html

Art history | Painting