- frottage
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/fraw tahzh"/, n.1. a technique in the visual arts of obtaining textural effects or images by rubbing lead, chalk, charcoal, etc., over paper laid on a granular or relieflike surface. Cf. rubbing (def. 2).2. a work of art containing shapes and textures produced by frottage.3. the practice of getting sexual stimulation and satisfaction by rubbing against something, esp. another person.[1930-35; < F, equiv. to frott(er) to rub (of uncert. orig.) + -age -AGE]
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Technique of obtaining an impression of a raised, incised, or textured surface by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing it with a soft pencil or crayon.Brass rubbings taken from gravestones and funerary monuments are obtained in this way. Max Ernst pioneered the technique in the 20th century. It was much favoured by the Surrealists, since it provided a point of departure for a painting or collage expressing the imagery of the subconscious.* * *
▪ art(French: “rubbing”), in visual arts, technique of obtaining an impression of the surface texture of a material, such as wood, by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing it with a soft pencil or crayon, as for taking brass rubbings; the name is also applied to the impression so obtained. Frottage was used by Max Ernst (Ernst, Max) and other members of the Surrealist movement, for whom it often provided the starting point for more elaborate compositions such as paintings and collages.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
