in sculpture is the projection or standing out of a figure which arises prominently from the surface on which it is formed, whether that figure be cut with the chisel, moulded, or cast. There are three kinds or degrees of relievo,—alto, basso, and demi-relievo. The alto-relievo, called also high-relief, is when the figure is formed after nature, and projects as much as the life. Basso-relievo, bas-relief, is when the work is raised a little from the surface, as in medals and the frontispieces of buildings, but particularly in the historics, festoons, foliages, and other ornaments of friezes. Demi-relievo is when one-half of the figure rises from the plane. When in basso-relievo there are parts that stand clear out, detached from the rest, the work is called a demi-basso. In architecture the relief or projection of the ornaments ought always to be proportioned to the magnitude of the building it adorns, and to the distance at which it is to be viewed.

painting, is the degree of boldness with which the figures appear, at a due distance, to stand out from the ground of the painting.