Fresco From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In painting, the term fresco (pl. frescoes) comes from the Italian phrase 'buon fresco,' (really fresh) a technical term in opposition to 'in secco' (on dry surface). True, or 'buon fresco' technique consists of painting in pigment in a water medium on wet or fresh lime mortar or plaster. 'In secco' painting is done on dry plaster and with the pigments in a binding medium, like egg. The difference between the two techniques is that as it dries the wet plaster absorbs the pigment and the painting becomes part of the wall surface rather than resting on top of it. This makes a durable work of art; if the wall is destroyed the painting can often be reassembled because of the size of the plaster parts. Because of the need to work on freshly laid plaster, careful study of the wall surface can reveal the area worked on in one day. In Renaissance Italy this was commonly called a 'giornata' or a 'daily amount.' These divisions are perceptible with mild magnification and even the naked eye if the plastering technique was not good. Painters in fresco often add details later 'in secco.' These details are not part of the wall and so they are much less durable. Egyptian wall paintings in tombs are usually 'in secco,' while the Roman wall paintings at Pompeii and Herculaneum are in fresco. Andrea Palladio, the famous Italian architect of the 16th century, built many mansions with plain exteriors and stunning interiors filled with frescoes.
Selected extant examples of Italian frescoes 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 di Firenze, Florence
- Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Palazzo Publico, Siena
- Piero della Francesca, Chiesa de San Francesco, Arezzo
- Ghirlandaiao, Capella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
- The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan
- Sistine Chapel Wall series: Botticelli, Perugino, Rosellini, Signorelli, and Ghirlandaio
- Luca Signorelli, Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto
Italian High Renaissance Italian Baroque - The Loves of the Gods, Annibale Carracci, Palazzo Farenese
- 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, San Ignazio, Rome
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