| Buon, or "true," frescoes are paintings done on freshly
laid wet plaster with pure powdered pigments dissolved in lime water.
As both dry, they become completely integrated so that the buon fresco
painting literally becomes a part of the wall. When at the painting
stage of the process, the artist can only create in sections, just the
space he or she can paint in a day. |
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The process begins by rough-plastering a wall with two layers of
slaked lime and course sand mixtures. The third layer is a smooth
surface using finer sand on which the sinopia or rough sketch of the
overall design is drawn. The artist must wait at least ten days for
each layer to dry, gradually molding a strong elastic base for the
last two plaster surfaces, to be added just before painting.
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| The sinopia is then traced in sections. These tracings
of the sinopia are called "cartoons." The artist takes the cartoons,
reworks any sections which may need it, and then perforates the edges
of the images. |
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| Next comes two more layers of plaster, the fifth layer
is called the "intonaco." The artist places the cartoon for whatever
section of the mural he or she will be painting that day on top of the
intonaco. |
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| The next step is called "pouncing." The artist takes a
small pouch filled with a colored powder and taps it along the perforations
of the cartoon. When the artist removes the cartoon, there is a powder
outline of the image for the artist to use as a guide. |
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| Following the outline created with the charcoal powder,
the artist then begins to paint on the damp plaster. Because the plaster
is still damp, a chemical reaction takes place that produces calcium
carbonate crystals on the surface of the plaster. |
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| As the process of carbonization continues, the pigments
are fixed in this hard crystalline layer and gradually become richer
and deeper, rather than fading with time. This gives the fresco an unsurpassed
luminosity and durability. |
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Many thanks to Jerry Rightman, Volunteer, Museum
of Fine Arts, who carefully documented this process through these
photographs. All photographs taken by Jerry Rightman.
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