Painting in fresco
Lecture at the National Gallery on the craft of fresco by James Heard.
This was a super evening including a demonstration of the different stages of making a fresco from the first plaster layer, through the sinopia or under drawing through to the painting itself. He discussed the difference pigments used and how they reacted with the lime and why some had to be added, often with disastrous effects, after the plaster was dry.
There were some wonderful slides of fresco painters at work which highlighted the logistical challenges of working at height and of getting the materials you needed to the site.
We also heard why some frescos look as they do for example whey the sky’s are sometimes red, because the blue was added later and has fallen off, or why they are sometime patchy, because paint dried to different colours which were difficult to predict in the patched which had to be worked on each day.
This was a fascinating evening. I have always loved fresco’s and think they are my favourite early renaissance media but seeing the logistics and craft involved only makes them even more remarkable.
This was a super evening including a demonstration of the different stages of making a fresco from the first plaster layer, through the sinopia or under drawing through to the painting itself. He discussed the difference pigments used and how they reacted with the lime and why some had to be added, often with disastrous effects, after the plaster was dry.
There were some wonderful slides of fresco painters at work which highlighted the logistical challenges of working at height and of getting the materials you needed to the site.
We also heard why some frescos look as they do for example whey the sky’s are sometimes red, because the blue was added later and has fallen off, or why they are sometime patchy, because paint dried to different colours which were difficult to predict in the patched which had to be worked on each day.
This was a fascinating evening. I have always loved fresco’s and think they are my favourite early renaissance media but seeing the logistics and craft involved only makes them even more remarkable.
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