word of the day: palimpsest

palimpsest |pælm(p)sst|
noun
A parchment or other writing surface on which the original text has been effaced or partially erased, and then overwritten by another; a manuscript in which later writing has been superimposed on earlier (effaced) writing.
· In extended use: a thing likened to such a writing surface, esp. in having been reused or altered while still retaining traces of its earlier form; a multilayered record: [Cy Twombly's art] is a perverse sort of palimpsest.*

Cy Twombly (American, 1928-), The Italians, 1961, oil, pencil, and crayon on canvas, 6 feet 6 5/8 inches x 8 feet 6 1/4 inches (199.5 x 259.6 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

*Roland Barthes, "Non Multa Sed Multum," (1976) in Nicola del Roscio ed., Writings on Twombly (Schmirmer/Mosel 2002), p. 94.