recherche

recherche [rəʃɛərˈʃeɪ] a.

1.) Sought out with care; choice. Hence: of rare quality, elegance, or attractiveness; peculiar and refined in kind (GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English).

Etymology: French, past participle of rechercher, from re- + chercher to seek, search.

"As for visual arts, the current Damien Hirst retrospective at Tate Modern is a perfect opportunity to see what becomes of an artificer whose impulse towards difficult subject matter was unsupported by any capacity for hard cogitation or challenging artistry. The early works – the stuffed animals and fly-bedizened carcasses – retain a certain – albeit recherché – shock value, while the subsequent ones degenerate steadily to the condition of knocked-off merchandise, making the barrier between the gift shop and the exhibition space evaporate in a puff of consumerism" ("In Defense of Obscure Words", Will Self, 2012).

(Der Jungbrunnen, Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1546)