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'Fresco' (plural '''frescoes''') is any of several related painting types. The word fresco comes from the Italian word ''affresco'' which derives from the adjective ''fresco'' ("fresh"), which has Germanic origins. Fresco paintings can be done in two ways: ''Buon fresco'' paintings are done on wet plaster, while ''a secco'' paintings are completed on dried plaster. The former is usually the more authentic form.

Contents

Technique

Frescoes in history

Latin American Muralist movement

Indian fresco

Selected examples of Italian frescoes

See also

External links

Technique

In painting a fresco, the surface of a plastered wall is divided into areas roughly corresponding to the contours of the figures or the landscape, generally drawn on a rough underlayer of lime mortar, called the ''arriccio.'' Many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia. From this pigment, the underdrawing acquired its name, the sinopia. On top of this first, rough layer of plaster, a second layer is added, called the ''intonaco.'' This is the final layer, and would be smoothed and perfected as the painting surface.
''Buon fresco'' technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster (''intonaco''). Due to the chemical makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will be enough to bind the pigment to the wall. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries and reacts with the air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles to the plaster. One of the first painters in the post Classical period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.
''A secco'' painting, in contrast, is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg, glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall.
Generally, ''buon fresco'' works are more durable than ''a secco'' works. Historically, the ''a secco'' technique was used more often for final touches or to touch-up mistakes made in a ''buon fresco'' work. However, as fresh lime mortar is highly alkaline only relatively few chemically stable pigments can be used in the fresco technique; as a consequence some less stable colours, such as azurite blue, were almost invariably used ''a secco''. It has also become increasingly clear, thanks to modern analytical techniques, that even in the early Italian Renaissance painters quite frequently employed ''a secco'' techniques so as to allow the use of a broader range of pigments.
''Buon frescoes'' are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Generally, a layer of plaster will require ten to twelve hours to dry; ideally, an artist would begin to paint after one hour and continue until two hours before the drying time. Thus, an artist would need to know exactly how much s/he could paint in those hours, before the plaster dries: this area is called the ''giornata'' ("day's work"). Once a ''giornata'' is dried, no more ''buon fresco'' can be done without removing the dried plaster from the wall — a task usually requiring a crowbar or other sharp instrument — and starting over. Hence the use of ''a secco'' to repair minor mistakes or to add finishing touches.
In a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more ''giornate,'' or separate areas of plaster. After centuries, these giornate (originally, nearly invisible) have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes, these divisions may be seen from the ground. Additionally, the border between ''giornate'' was often covered by ''a secco'' painting, which has since fallen off.

Frescoes in history

The earliest known examples frescoes done in the Buon Fresco method date at around 1500 BC and are to be found on the island of Crete in Greece. The most famous of these, The Toreador, depicts a sacred ceremony in which individuals jump over the backs of large bulls. While some similar frescoes have been found in other locations around the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Egypt and Morocco, their origins are subject to speculation.
Some art historians believe that fresco artists from Crete may have been sent to various locations as part of a trade exchange, a possibility which raises to the fore the importance of this art form within the society of the times. The most common form of ''fresco'' was Egyptian wall paintings in tombs, usually using the ''a secco'' technique.
Frescoes were also painted in ancient Greece, but few of these works have survived. In southern Italy, at Paestum, which was a Greek colony, a tomb containing frescoes dating back to 470 BC was discovered. These frescoes depict scenes of the life and society of ancient Greece, and constitute valuable historical testimonials. One shows a group of men reclining at a banquet and another shows a man diving into the sea.
Roman wall paintings, such as those at Pompeii and Herculaneum, were completed in ''buon fresco.''
One of the rare examples of Islam fresco painting can be seen in Qasr Amra, the desert palace of the Umayyads in the 8th century.
Late Roman Empire (Christian) 1st-2nd century frescoes were found in catacombs beneath Rome and Byzantine Icons were also found in Cyprus, Crete, Ephesus, Capadocia and Antioch.
Also an historical collection of Ancient Christian frescoes can be found in the Churches of Goreme Turkey.
The late Medieval period and the Renaissance saw the most prominent use of fresco, particularly in Italy, where most churches and many government buildings still feature fresco decoration.
Andrea Palladio, the famous Italian architect of the 16th century, built many mansions with plain exteriors and stunning interiors filled with frescoes.

Latin American Muralist movement

Indian fresco

The frescoes on the ceilings and walls of the Ajanta Caves were painted between c. 200 BCE and 600 CE. They depict the Jataka tales that are stories of the Buddha's life in former existences as Bodhisattva. The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in a linear order. Their identification has been a core area of research on the subject since the time of the site's rediscovery in 1819 CE.
The Chola fresco paintings were discovered in 1931 within the circumambulatory passage of the Brihadisvara Temple in India and are the first Chola specimens discovered.
Researchers have discovered the technique used in these frescos. A smooth batter of limestone mixture is applied over the stones, which took two to three days to set. Within that short span, such large paintings were painted with natural organic pigments.
During the Nayak period the chola paintings were painted over. The Chola frescos lying underneath have an ardent spirit of saivism is expressed in them. They probably synchronised with the completion of the temple by Rajaraja Cholan the Great.

Selected examples of Italian frescoes

'Italian Early Medieval'

★ Castelseprio
'Italian Late Medieval-Quattrocento'

★ Panels (including Giotto, Lorenzetti, Martini and others) in upper and lower Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

★ Giotto, Cappella degli Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

★ ''Camposanto'', Pisa

★ Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence

★ Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

★ Piero della Francesca, Chiesa di San Francesco, Arezzo

★ Ghirlandaio, ''Cappella Tornabuoni'', Santa Maria Novella, Florence

★ ''The Last Supper'', Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan (technically a tempera on plaster and stone, not a true fresco [1])

★ Sistine Chapel Wall series: Botticelli, Perugino, Rossellini, Signorelli, and Ghirlandaio

★ Luca Signorelli, Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto

★ Luciano Medevici, a monochromatic fresco, destroyed in a fire in 1944.
'Italian "High Renaissance"'

★ Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling

★ Raphael's Vatican Stanza

★ Raphael's Villa Farnesina

★ Giulio Romano's Palazzo del Tè, Mantua

★ Mantegna, Camera degli Sposi, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

★ The dome of the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore of Florence
'Italian Baroque'

★ The Loves of the Gods, Annibale Carracci, Palazzo Farnese

★ Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power, Pietro Da Cortona, Palazzo Barberini

★ Ceilings, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, (New Residenz) Wurzburg, (Royal Palace) Madrid, (Villa Pisani) Stra, and others; Wall scenes (Villa Valmarana and Palazzo Labia)

★ Nave ceiling, Andrea Pozzo, Sant'Ignazio, Rome

See also

★ Mural.

★ Gambier Parry process.

★ Sigiriya Frescoes

External links

★ The Art and Nature of Fresco by Lucia Wiley

★ Museum of Ancient Inventions: Roman-Style Fresco, Italy, 50 AD

★ Fresco examples from Italy
Fresco technique described

★ Contemporary Fresco Painting Resource Center

★ Fresco Techniques

★ Fresco School

★ Fresco Paintings, What It Is and How to Use It

★ Sigiriya Frescoes, The Mary B. Wheeler Collection, University of Pennsylvania Library