The plural word for pentimento, which is a key term to define an important aspect of artistic processes. Pentimento means repentance in Italian. Pentimenti are series of changes in composition that a painter makes whilst producing a painting. During restoration this is often quite evident when you view the image in infrared or x-ray, and sometimes it is visible to the naked eye for various reasons such as a raised surface where something has been covered up or by virtue of oil paint turning progressively transparent over time.
Pentimenti are also visible on paper sketches by artists, because the latter can serve as preparatory work for oil paining or frescos. Late Italian renaissance sketches and drawings often have a magical sense of movement because you can see the either the head, arm or torso of a figure being repositioned. It creates the unintentional illusion of cartoon tweening.
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