grisaille

Painting that is monochromatic or nearly monochromatic, most often in shades of gray.  Grisaille paintings were often intended to imitate sculpture. Pronunciation here.

Hubert_van_Eyck_014

Jan and/or Hubert van Eyck. St. John the Baptist, from the Ghent Altarpiece. Oil on panel. Completed 1432. Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent, Belgium.