Gesso is a primer or foundation for art painting on wood or canvas.

It is a white
paint mixture. It has a binder mixed with a pigment. Traditionally, the binder is
glue or gelatin, the pigment is chalk, plaster or gypsum.[1]

Gesso is used in art to prepare a surfaces (wood panels, canvas and sculpture) for
painting. Paint and/or other materials are applied on top of the gesso. One reason
for covering the surface with gesso is that wood or canvas has a rough or uneven
surface, and a colour. Gesso "priming" lets the artist's chosen subject show more
clearly than it would otherwise.

Even if a surface has no roughness, many artists still prime it before starting the
painting proper, though they might use a paint or "wash" of their own choosing.
They do this because the primer, though it cannot be seen directly, may change and
help the quality of light reflected from the surface. Gesso, however, is specially
useful for a rough or uneven surface.

Acrylic gesso
Acrylic gesso, a widely used "ground", is a modern version which is cheaper and
easier to use than the traditional type of gesso.[2] It is a combination of calcium
carbonate with an acrylic polymer medium latex, a pigment and other chemicals to
ensure flexibility and increase life. It is technically not gesso at all.[3][4]p321

The Painter's Handbook notes a problem with using oil paints over an acrylic gesso
ground instead of a traditional oil ground, citing a mismatch in flexibility over
time that could cause the oil paint to delaminate (flake off).[4]p60