Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why can fresco secco paintings flake more easily than buon frescoes?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Mural
Detail of Religion, mural in lunette from the Family and Education series by Charles Sprague Pearce, 1897; in the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.
Fresco secco paintings are more prone to flaking than buon fresco because of how the pigments interact with the wall surface.
In buon fresco, pigments are applied to wet, fresh plaster. As the plaster dries, the pigment particles become chemically bound and cemented into the wall itself, making them an integral part of the surface and highly durable.12
In contrast, fresco secco involves painting on a dry, finished wall that has been soaked with limewater. Because the pigments are not fully absorbed into the plaster, they do not fuse with the wall. Instead, they form a superficial film of paint that sits on top of the surface, which makes the work susceptible to flaking over time.31