FRESCO

 FRESCO - THE  OLDEST  PROCESS  OF ART

      The word 'fresco' has been derived from the word 'fresh'. Fresco is considered as the oldest process of art. It is a technique of mural painting. Fresco paintings developed in Italy from about the thirteenth century and was perfected during the Renaissance. 

       Types of Fresco -

There are three common types of fresco : Buon, Secco and Mezzo.

  Buon - fresco:  In this process the surface of the wall is made even. The pigment used to paint a buon fresco doesnot need to contain a binding medium and it can simply be mixed with room temperature water. Thin blocks made of plaster or other layering materials are prepared and fixed them on the wall. The painting work is completed on the wet surface. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster and the plaster dries in reaction to air and the pigment particles fixes in the plaster by chemical reaction.The colour is usually very light and varnish.

Secco - fresco:   This painting is done on dry plaster. In this method an uneven wall is made even by a thin and minute layer or courting of cement and sand. When the courting is dry an outline of the picture is drawn with the help of coal or other similar materials. Thereafter white colour is mixed with dark or deep colours in varied proportions and the pictured is coloured by the tempara process. To make the paint stick to the plaster, the pigments must be mixed with a binding medium, such as glue or egg yolk. Reshin is mixed with alcohol and applied as a thin layer to increase the gloss and durability.

 Mezzo - fresco:  A mezzo fresco is painted on nearly dry intonaco( Italian word for plaster). During the Renaissance, this type of fresco became widely used.