Dictionary
Gouache

Gouache painting [Italian: "guazzo"; French "gouache" = wash] entails painting in watercolor rendered opaque by the addition of white pigments such as chalk to achieve more brilliant color that also covers better. The color is still water-miscible. The layer of color applied is relatively thick. When gouache dries, the colors lighten, which makes it more difficult to achieve precise color tones and the layer of paint becomes very brittle. Although the term gouache was not used until the 18th century in France, the technique was in use in Europe by the 16th century and before that was occasionally employed in medieval manuscript illumination.