Essay Example on Fresco Painting: Ancient Artistry in Modern Art

Introduction

Fresco painting refers to a ceiling or wall art that is created through the application of pigment onto a thin layer of plaster (Linn 774). The word is Italian for fresh, as it always wet when the paint has been applied. Despite being associated with the Italian renaissance, the painting technique has been in existence for a long period, with a significant influence on contemporary artistry. The colors that punctuate the art are often made by grinding powder pigments in water, drying then, and applying to a plaster. Notably, because of its durability and matte surface, fresco painting is always an ideal art in making murals. There are three main types of fresco painting techniques, that is, secco, mezzo-fresco, and buon paintings. The most common fresco technique is buon fresco, which involves the use of powder pigments mixed in water and placed on a thin layer of plaster (Magon and Eliane 387). However, secco painting is always placed on dry plaster, and hence it hardly requires a binding medium.

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Notably, buon fresco is the most durable of the three types and involves numerous processes that guarantee its permanence. The processes include successive troweling of three coats on a well-prepared plaster on a wall. The process is followed by allowing the first two coats to dry, and the artist with a preparatory drawing transfers the design onto the wall (Linn 776). Ultimately, the smooth coat (intonaco) is troweled onto the wall. Further, the tracing of the cartoon is placed on the fresh intonaco and aligned adjacently on the painted wall. The resultant faint is always used to provide a guide while painting the image. More imperatively, the prepared intonaco will preserve its moisture for a considerably long period (Magon and Eliane 389). Also, the colors are given the much-needed permanence by allowing the pigment particles to be cemented on the wall. More often than not, the sparkling effect of a fresco always emanates from plaster aggregate, such as river sand, and this can be improved by adding marble dust.

The Annunciation, fresco by Fra Angelico, 1438-45

Undoubtedly, fresco painting often requires great speed for successful completion, and this is because the plaster always changes its curing within a short time (Magon and Eliane 391). In light of this, therefore, the painters using the fresco techniques should possess great technical skills to enable them to accomplish the work quickly while the plaster is still moisturized. It is always difficult to correct the inherent mistakes by applying more paints, as permanence will be achieved only when the painting is applied to a fresh coat of plaster (Linn 778). Equally important, the durability of fresco painting is premised on the wall's relative stability and the absence of damaging agents like salt that can destroy the plaster together with the painting. Understandably, the qualities of lime plaster, such as its flexibility to climate change, are often helpful in guaranteeing the durability of fresco painting. Moreover, fresco painting hardly requires any painting medium but rather uses lime in the plaster as the medium (Linn 779). The activation of lime is always achieved by brushing pigments in the water and placing them on the curing lime plaster, and this will be instrumental in binding the pigments as the water evaporates from the plaster.

It should be noted that fresco was regarded as a cheaper method of covering a ceiling surface. However, the speed that was significantly influenced by the medium resulted in several consequences for the technique. Furthermore, the brushstroke of frescos has been sustained by considerably strong design and drawing that has made it identifiable from a distance (Magon and Eliane 393). More significantly, fresco is always associated with Mediterranean warmth. Undeniably, mezzo-fresco's advantage is hinged on its extended painting period, and more importantly, the larger area of the wall that it can cover. Also, it ensures that the continuity of the scene is attained, especially when a larger landscape is involved. Some notable fresco artists like Tiepolo depended on mezzo-fresco rather than buon fresco to guarantee the accomplishment of larger ceilings (Linn 781). Concerning secco fresco, a dry plaster is utilized as the canvas, and sticking of the paint to the plaster is achieved through mixing of pigments with a binding medium such as egg yolk or a glue adhesive. Further, in secco fresco, colors always form a surface film just like other paints, but hardly penetrate the plaster (Magon and Eliane 395). Despite being less superior to buon fresco, secco is always useful technique is accomplishing retouching.

Conclusion

In conclusion, fresco painting has continued to make a significant contribution to contemporary artistry. Most recently, many artists from the United States and Europe have embraced the practice of buon fresco painting, where they have built on their painting knowledge by imitating old masters. The use of this technique has helped significantly in enriching the modern world's buildings and infusing the much-needed combination of both freshness and durability. Moreover, conventional fresco painting has been infused in modern painting techniques that have set the artistry in the path of transformation and, most importantly, offering new insight into modern beautification of walls and ceilings. More fundamentally, fresco painting has created inspiration among contemporary artists and encouraging them to appreciate traditional artistry and enabling them to combine the techniques with modern technology for better painting quality.

Works Cited

Linn, Ravit. "Layered pigments and painting technology of the Roman wall paintings of Caesarea Maritima." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 11 (2017): 774-781. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X16304576

Magon, Patricia Marques, and Eliane Aparecida Del Lama. "Material characterization, stratigraphy, textures, and painting techniques of the mural painting The Allegory of the Industrial Development of Sao Paulo by Fulvio Pennacchi." Studies in Conservation 64.7 (2019): 387-396. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00393630.2018.1564502