Gesso | art | Britannica
Gesso, (Italian: “gypsum” or “chalk”) fluid white coating, composed of plaster of paris, chalk, gypsum, or other whiting mixed with glue, applied to smooth surfaces such as wood panels, plaster, stone, or canvas to provide the ground for tempera and oil painting or for gilding and painting carved furniture and picture frames. In medieval and Renaissance tempera painting, the surface ...