An Introduction to Buon Fresco Detail from the Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Cave, France circa 15,000 BCE (Chevaux paintings approx. 30,000 BCE)
An Introduction to Buon Fresco
Detail from the Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Cave, Francecirca 15,000 BCE (Chevaux paintings approx. 30,000 BCE)
The Ancient Agean Toreador Fresco, circa 1500 BCE
Pompeiian Frescoes 79 CE
Early RenaissanceGiotto’s, The Lamentation, 1305-1306
GiottoMourning of St. Francis
Michelangelo
Detail of the Sistine Chapel, 1508-12
Restoration 1980-99
An unknown colorist?
Or, is there a case to me made that the ceiling may have had “Secco” touches removed?
Diego RiveraDetroit Industry, 1932-33
Diego RiveraThe Making of the Fresco, 1931
Coit Tower, WPA Frescoes, San Francisco
John Langley Howard’s “California Industrial Scenes” Coit Tower, Circa 1935
Basic Materials
1. Lime: lime putty, aka Calcium Hydroxide)2. Aggregate: river sand, or crushed marble)3. Pigment: oxides of metal, as they are alkali
resistant4. A rigid support: Walls, ceramic tiles, portable
supports
ProcessPrepare the support
and materials
Apply the “Scratch Coat”
Apply and level the brown coat(s)
Apply the “Intonaco”. But only what can be finished in one day!(a giornata)
Transfer the “cartoon”
Paint!
The red line beneath the intonaco is referred to as the “Sinopia”
Carefully chip away unfinished portions
Finito !