Fresco

[1][2] The word fresco is commonly and inaccurately used in English to refer to any wall painting regardless of the plaster technology or binding medium.

An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, which fixes the colour in the plaster ensuring durability of the fresco for future generations.

A third type called a mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly dry intonaco—firm enough not to take a thumb-print, says the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo—so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster.

By the end of the sixteenth century this had largely displaced buon fresco, and was used by painters such as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo or Michelangelo.

The three key advantages of work done entirely a secco were that it was quicker, mistakes could be corrected, and the colours varied less from when applied to when fully dry—in wet fresco there was a considerable change.

For wholly a secco work, the intonaco is laid with a rougher finish, allowed to dry completely and then usually given a key by rubbing with sand.

The most famous of these[citation needed], the Bull-Leaping Fresco, depicts a sacred ceremony in which individuals jump over the backs of large bulls.

The oldest surviving Minoan frescoes are found on the island of Santorini (classically known as Thera), dated to the Neo-Palatial period (c. 1640–1600 BC).

[citation needed] While some similar frescoes have been found in other locations around the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Egypt and Morocco, their origins are subject to speculation.

These frescoes depict scenes of the life and society of ancient Greece, and constitute valuable historical testimonials.

The richly decorated Thracian frescoes of the Tomb of Kazanlak are dating back to 4th century BC, making it a UNESCO protected World Heritage Site.

Roman wall paintings, such as those at the magnificent Villa dei Misteri (1st century BC) in the ruins of Pompeii, and others at Herculaneum, were completed in buon fresco.

Scenes from epics of Mahabharat and Ramayan along with portraits of local lords form the subject matter of these wall paintings.

Rang Mahal of Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) is another site of historic Dogri fresco with wall paintings depicting scenes of Draupti Cheer Haran, and Radha- Krishna Leela.

The generally accepted view is that they are portrayals of women of the royal court of the king depicted as celestial nymphs showering flowers upon the humans below.

This gives the painting added durability, as clearly demonstrated by the fact that they have survived, exposed to the elements, for over 1,500 years.

[19] One of the rare examples of Islamic fresco painting can be seen in Qasr Amra, the desert palace of the Umayyads in the 8th century Magotez.

Gianbattista Tiepolo was arguably the last major exponent of this tradition, with huge schemes for palaces in Madrid and Würzburg in Germany.

[20] Henri Clément Serveau produced several frescos including a three by six meter painting for the Lycée de Meaux, where he was once a student.

[22] He also executed mural decorations for the Plan des anciennes enceintes de Paris in the Musée Carnavalet.

José Clemente Orozco, Fernando Leal, David Siqueiros and Diego Rivera the famous Mexican artists, renewed the art of fresco painting in the 20th century.

The American artist, Brice Marden's monochrome works first shown in 1966 at Bykert Gallery, New York were inspired by frescos and "watching masons plastering stucco walls.

In 1968 Donald Judd commissioned Novros to create a work at 101 Spring Street, New York, NY soon after he had purchased the building.

The American painter, James Hyde first presented frescoes in New York at the Esther Rand Gallery, Thompkins Square Park in 1985.

At that time Hyde was using true fresco technique on small panels made of cast concrete arranged on the wall.

Throughout the next decade Hyde experimented with multiple rigid supports for the fresco plaster including composite board and plate glass.

In 1991 at John Good Gallery in New York City, Hyde debuted true fresco applied on an enormous block of Styrofoam.

In ArtForum David Pagel wrote, "like ruins from some future archaeological dig, Hyde's nonrepresentational frescoes on large chunks of Styrofoam give suggestive shape to the fleeting landscape of the present.

Progressive Insurance commissioned this site-specific work for the monumental 80- foot atrium in their headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.

The cracks and detachments are stopped with lime putty and injected with an epoxy resin loaded with micronized silica.