Buon fresco
Encyclopedia
Buon fresco is a fresco
painting
technique in which alkaline resistant pigments, ground in water, are applied to plaster
when it is still wet, as opposed to fresco-secco
(or a secco). The buon fresco technique consists of painting with pigment
ground in water
on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster
, for which the Italian word for plaster, intonaco
, is used. Because of the chemical makeup of the plaster, a binder
is not required. After a number of hours the plaster reacts with the air in a process called carbonation: This chemical reaction fixes the pigment particles at the plaster's surface in a protective crystalline mesh known as the lime crust. One of the first painters in the post-classical period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis
in Assisi
.
Buon fresco contrasts with finto fresco, a technique in which paints are applied to dried plaster.
The advantage of Buon fresco is its durability. In fresco-secco
, by contrast, the color does not become part of the wall and tends to flake off over time. The chief disadvantage of Buon fresco is that it must be done quickly without mistakes. The painter plasters and paints only as much as can be completed in a day, which explains the Italian term for each of these sections, giornata, or a day's work. The size of a giornata varies according to the complexity of the painting within it. A face, for instance, might take an entire day, whereas large areas of sky can be painted quite rapidly.
In medieval and Renaissance Italy, a wall to be frescoed was first prepared with a rough, thick undercoat of plaster known as the arriccio. When this was dry, assistants copied the master painter's composition onto it with reddish-brown pigment or charcoal. The artist made any necessary adjustments.
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
technique in which alkaline resistant pigments, ground in water, are applied to plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
when it is still wet, as opposed to fresco-secco
Fresco-secco
Fresco-secco is a fresco painting technique in which pigments ground in water are tempered using egg yolk or whole egg mixed with water which are applied to plaster that has been moistened to simulate fresh plaster. No white is used...
(or a secco). The buon fresco technique consists of painting with pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
ground in water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
, for which the Italian word for plaster, intonaco
Intonaco
Intonaco is an Italian term for the final, very thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. The plaster is painted while still wet, in order to allow the pigment to penetrate into the intonaco itself...
, is used. Because of the chemical makeup of the plaster, a binder
Binder (material)
-See also:*Adhesive or Glue*Cement*Paint...
is not required. After a number of hours the plaster reacts with the air in a process called carbonation: This chemical reaction fixes the pigment particles at the plaster's surface in a protective crystalline mesh known as the lime crust. One of the first painters in the post-classical period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis
Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi
The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor—commonly known as the Franciscan Order—in Assisi, Italy, the city where St. Francis was born and died. The basilica is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy...
in Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
.
Buon fresco contrasts with finto fresco, a technique in which paints are applied to dried plaster.
The advantage of Buon fresco is its durability. In fresco-secco
Fresco-secco
Fresco-secco is a fresco painting technique in which pigments ground in water are tempered using egg yolk or whole egg mixed with water which are applied to plaster that has been moistened to simulate fresh plaster. No white is used...
, by contrast, the color does not become part of the wall and tends to flake off over time. The chief disadvantage of Buon fresco is that it must be done quickly without mistakes. The painter plasters and paints only as much as can be completed in a day, which explains the Italian term for each of these sections, giornata, or a day's work. The size of a giornata varies according to the complexity of the painting within it. A face, for instance, might take an entire day, whereas large areas of sky can be painted quite rapidly.
In medieval and Renaissance Italy, a wall to be frescoed was first prepared with a rough, thick undercoat of plaster known as the arriccio. When this was dry, assistants copied the master painter's composition onto it with reddish-brown pigment or charcoal. The artist made any necessary adjustments.