Fresco painting
- Famous examples: Roman frescoes in Pompeii; frescoes of the Arena Chapel (1303–05) in Padua, Italy, by Giotto; frescoes of the Convento di San Marco (1438–45), Florence, by Fra Angelico; School of Athens (1508–11) in the Vatican by Raphael; ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508–12) in the Vatican by Michelangelo; and History of Mexico (1929–35) in the Palacio Nacional, Mexico City, by Diego Rivera
- Important practitioners: Cimabue, Francesco Clemente, Correggio, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Masaccio, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Diego Rivera
- Related media: mural
-
What is fresco painting?
Fresco painting is a mural technique where water-based pigments are applied to fresh, wet plaster. As the plaster dries, the colors become a permanent part of the wall, resulting in a durable matte surface ideal for monumental art.
The most durable fresco method, buon fresco, involves applying three layers of plaster, transferring a preparatory drawing to the final smooth coat (intonaco), and then painting the design. The artist must work quickly on sections small enough to be completed in one session, called giornate, because corrections are impossible without replastering.
Another method is fresco secco or "dry fresco". In this method, the artist applies the paint to a dry wall that has been soaked with limewater.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is fresco painting different from other types of painting?
Fresco painting differs from other methods because it involves painting with water-based pigments on fresh plaster, typically on walls. The colors are made by grinding dry powder pigments in pure water. As the plaster dries, the colors set and become a permanent part of the wall.
True fresco, or buon fresco, is the most durable method. In this technique, the pigments are completely fused with a damp plaster ground, making them an integral part of the wall surface. With fresco secco, the colors do not penetrate the plaster but form a surface film, like other paints. The medium of fresco requires technical skill because the painter must work quickly without correcting mistakes by overpainting.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What materials and tools are used in fresco painting?
In fresco painting, artists apply water-based pigments to fresh plaster, typically on walls. The colors are made by grinding dry-powder pigments in pure water.
For the buon fresco or "true" fresco technique, the most durable one, the artist needs plaster, sand, and sometimes marble dust for preparing the wall. They also need a full-scale cartoon (preparatory drawing), tracing, and tools to transfer the outlines onto the fresh plaster. While painting, the artist uses brushes to apply the colors to the plaster.
In fresco secco, the artist applies lime-resistant pigments to dry, finished walls that have been soaked with limewater.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does an artist create a fresco step by step?
Creating a fresco involves several steps. First, the artist prepares the wall with three layers of plaster, the last being a smooth coat called intonaco. After making a full-scale drawing, the artist transfers the design outlines onto the fresh intonaco, which can only cover the area that can be painted in one session, or giornata.
Using water-based pigments, the artist paints the image onto the fresh plaster. As the wall dries, the colors set and become a permanent part of it. Because the artist must work quickly and cannot correct mistakes, fresco painting requires technical skill.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why have fresco paintings survived for hundreds of years?
Fresco paintings have survived for hundreds of years because the pigments are bound within the wall's plaster as it dries, making them very durable and resistant to aging. In the buon fresco method, pigments are applied to a fresh, damp plaster layer, becoming an integral part of the wall as the plaster dries and sets. This process gives the colors great permanence because they are not merely a superficial layer but are fused with the plaster.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some famous examples of fresco paintings in history?
Here are some famous examples of fresco paintings:
The Italian Renaissance was a significant period for fresco painting. Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Stanza murals in the Vatican are among the most well-known frescoes. Raphael's School of Athens is housed in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican.
Other notable examples from the Italian Renaissance can be seen in Florence, such as those painted by Gozzoli in the chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the church of Santa Maria Novella.
Fresco painting dates back to ancient civilizations, including the Minoan civilization in Crete and the Romans in Pompeii.
6 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Fresco painting, method of painting usually on walls by applying water-based pigments on either fresh plaster or limewater-soaked surfaces. Fresco painting is an ancient technique that was popular during the Renaissance and briefly revived in the 20th century, especially in Mexico. It is ideal for making murals because it lends itself to a monumental style, is durable, and has a matte surface.
Buon fresco
Buon, or “true,” fresco is the most durable technique and consists of the following process. Three successive coats of specially prepared plaster, sand, and sometimes marble dust are troweled onto a wall. Each of the first two rough coats is applied and then allowed to set (dry and harden). In the meantime, the artist creates a tracing from a full-scale cartoon (preparatory drawing) of the image to be painted.
The final, smooth coat (intonaco) of plaster is then troweled onto as much of the wall as can be painted in one session. The boundaries of this area are confined carefully along contour lines, so that the edges, or joints, of each successive section of fresh plastering are imperceptible. These sections are called giornate, a “day’s work.” The tracing is then held against the fresh intonaco and lined up carefully with the adjacent sections of painted wall, and its pertinent contours and interior lines are traced onto the fresh plaster; this faint but accurate drawing serves as a guide for painting the image in color.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
A correctly prepared intonaco will hold its moisture for many hours. When the painter dilutes the pigments with water and applies them with brushstrokes to the plaster, the colors are imbibed into the surface, and as the wall dries and sets, the pigment particles become bound or cemented along with the sand particles. This gives the colors great permanence and resistance to aging, since they are an integral part of the wall surface, rather than a superimposed layer of paint on it. The medium of fresco makes great demands on a painter’s technical skill, since he or she must work fast (while the plaster is wet) but cannot correct mistakes by overpainting; this must be done on a fresh coat of plaster or by using the secco method.
Fresco secco
Fresco secco (“dry fresco”) is a process that dispenses with the complex preparation of the wall with wet plaster. Instead, dry, finished walls are soaked with limewater and painted while wet. The colors do not penetrate into the plaster but form a surface film, like any other paint. Secco is useful for detailed painting and for retouching true fresco.
Brief history
The origins of fresco painting are unknown, but it was used as early as the Minoan civilization (at Knossos on Crete, for example) and by the ancient Romans (at Pompeii). The Italian Renaissance was the great period of fresco painting, as seen in the works of Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Correggio—who favored the sotto in su (“from below to above”) technique—and many other painters from the late 13th to the mid-16th century. Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Stanza murals in the Vatican are the most famous of all frescoes. By the mid-16th century, however, the use of fresco had largely been supplanted by oil painting. The technique was briefly revived in the 20th century by Diego Rivera and other Mexican muralists as well as Francesco Clemente.