GROUND, in painting, the surface upon which the figures and other objects are represented.
The ground is properly understood of such parts of the piece, as have nothing painted on them, but retain the original colour upon which the other colours are applied to make the representations.
A building is said to serve as a ground to a figure when the figure is painted on the building.
The ground behind a picture in miniature, is commonly blue or crimson, imitating a curtain of satin or velvet.