About This Project

Fresco painting is one of the few mediums that can be traced back to ancient civilizations. It is a medium that requires the artist to work fast, and have a concise plan before beginning. I have been given the opportunity to fresco an outdoor wall on my University's campus. My challenge will be to bring this medium into our present culture by taking into account our various modern materials and potential weathering that may positively or negatively impact this ancient recipe.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

This past June I studied at the International Center for the Arts in Monte Castello, Italy for a study abroad program. During this stay I visited, and studied, many famous frescoes created during the Italian Renaissance. Fresco painting is a unique process in that the artist paints pigments into a wet plaster surface. As this surface cures, it hardens into a calcium carbonate surface permanently suspending the pigments. Upon my return, my mentors suggested that I do a fresco painting on campus. I was provided with a wall in the garden of our University President's home. Many frescoes were painted indoors, therefore protecting them from weathering. Lime plaster can deteriorate by the mere presence of water. This water can also bring with it corrosive salts and acids from nearby surfaces.

What is the significance of this project?

This project is a tremendous learning opportunity for me to have as an undergraduate student. Fresco painting was a staple in the art world for many years but it is seldom used today. By tackling the issue of how to use this medium on an outside surface I plan to answer some of those unanswerable questions for other artists. Finding a solution to working on an incompatible surface and how to account for the weathering of an outside fresco mural will provide other artists with a more informative guide as to how we can replicate this medium in our modern world.

What are the goals of the project?

The objective of this project is to effectively use an ancient painting technique to create a modern work of art. This project will begin with research on how to create an impermeable barrier between the cement substrate of the exterior wall and the lime plaster that I will be using. This barrier will be created so that water and the salts from the cement cannot leach into the plaster. After the barrier has been built, the surface preparation with lime plaster will begin. The final intonaco plaster layer is the surface I will be painting into. It will be divided up into giornatas – what I am able to paint in a day. I will continue the painting in sections until it is complete. The results of this project will be presented to my university at Discovery Day.