Sgraffito

The term sgraffito is based on the verb graffiare 'to scratch', which probably entered Italian through Lombardic and ultimately traces back to the Greek word gráphein 'to write'.

This period marked a significant resurgence in interest in classical aesthetics and cultural identity, prompting architects to adopt sgraffito as a recurrent technique for embellishing façades.

The intricate patterns and designs scratched into the plaster surfaces of buildings became emblematic of the region's architectural heritage, reflecting a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity.

As sgraffito adorned numerous buildings throughout Catalonia, it served as a decorative element and a symbol of cultural revival and artistic innovation during a transformative period in the region's history.

In some cases, the initial layer of paint may be omitted, and the artist scrapes back the wet coat to expose the canvas underneath.

This firing process allows the maker to achieve high definition, contrast, and subtle gradients, utilizing a variety of tools to manipulate the pigment and create the desired effects.

The English artist Heywood Sumner has been identified[3] as this era's pioneer of the technique, for example his work at the 1892 St Mary's Church, Sunbury, Surrey.

Sumner's work is sgraffito per se, scratched plaster, but the term has come to encompass a variety of techniques for producing exterior graphic decoration.