Sfumato (sfoo-mah-toe): Italian for ""blended" with suggestions of "smoky."  An oil painting technique in which the artist coats the objects in a picture with layers of very thin paint to soften edges and blur shadows. This creates a dreamlike effect of atmospheric mist or haze.
From: The Museum of Science, Glossary of terms relating to Leonardo Da Vinci.

When applying sfumato, the painter applies translucent layers of color to create perceptions of depth, volume and form. [The term stands alone and apart from glazing in that in particular], sfumato refers to a [very smooth] blending of colors or tones, [applied] so subtly that there is no perceptible transition. Leonardo da Vinci described sfumato as 'without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or beyond the focus plane."
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GottliebStudios.com/Classical_Glossary

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