Editing Decoupage (section)

{{Short description|French art of decorating an object}}
{{For|the aleatory literary technique|Cut-up technique}}
{{No footnotes|date=June 2015}}
{{Italics title}}

[[File:Page from the Diwan (Collected Works) of Sultan Husayn Mirza (LACMA M.73.5.599a-b).jpg|thumb|Page from the [[Diwan (poetry)|Diwan]] of [[Sultan Husayn Bayqara|Sultan Husayn Mirza]] with calligraphy made by découpage. [[Herat]], c. 1490. [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]]]]
[[File:A lion attacking a deer.jpg|thumb|''A lion attacking a deer'', stencilled scene of découpage paper shapes. [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], c. 1501-1550. [[British Museum]]]]
'''''Decoupage''''' or '''''découpage''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|d|eɪ|k|u:|ˈ|p|ɑ:|ʒ}};<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/d%C3%A9coupage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826092906/https://www.dictionary.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-08-26 |title=découpage |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|dekupaʒ|lang}}) is the [[decorative arts|art of decorating]] an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special [[paint]] effects, [[gold leaf]], and other decorative elements. Commonly, an object like a small box or an item of [[furniture]] is covered by cutouts from magazines or from purpose-manufactured papers. Each layer is sealed with [[varnish]]es (often multiple coats) until the "stuck on" appearance disappears and the result looks like [[painting]] or [[inlay]] work. The traditional technique used 30 to 40 layers of varnish which were then sanded to a polished finish.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/decoupage|title=Decoupage {{!}} art|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-03-01|language=en}}</ref>

Three dimensional ''decoupage'' (sometimes also referred to simply as decoupage) is the [[art]] of creating a [[three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] (3D) image by cutting out elements of varying sizes from a series of identical images and layering them on top of each other, usually with adhesive foam spacers between each layer to give the image more depth. Pyramid decoupage (also called pyramage) is a process similar to 3D decoupage. In pyramid decoupage, a series of identical images are cut into progressively smaller, identical shapes which are layered and fixed with adhesive foam spacers to create a 3D "[[pyramid (geometry)|pyramid]]" effect.

A person who does decoupage is known as a decoupeur, or "cutter".