Created by painting directly onto plaster, frescoes offer a permanence not found in other forms of art.
What is a Fresco?
Its title translates to fresh in Italian, as a true fresco’sintonacois wet when the paint is applied.
Detail of the Sistine Chapel ceiling (Photo viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Here, we take a look at some of the most famous of these paintings on plaster.
BullLeaping Fresco
Bull-leaping Fresco (ca.
Sappho Fresco
Woman with Wax Tablets and Stylus, also known as the Sappho Fresco (ca.
(Photo:Lori GreigviaFlickr,CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Holy Trinity
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, c. 142628.
The Annunciation
The Annunciation by Fra Angelico (ca.
This fresco is located in the Convent of San Marco in Florence, Italy.
“Bull-leaping Fresco” (ca. 1600–1450 BCE) (Photo:Ministry of Culture and SportsviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
This massivebuonfresco features 9 central scenes from scripture and 343 figures.
Many of these characters are surrounded bygiornata,subtle outlines made by scraping off sections of the wetintonaco.
Intended to suggest depth, thesegiornataare present throughout the entire plaster painting.
Sigiriya Rock Frescoes (5th century BCE) (Photo: Rudolph.A.furtado viaWikimedia Commons,CC0 1.0)
“Woman with Wax Tablets and Stylus,” also known as the “Sappho Fresco” (ca. 55-79)(Photo viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Masaccio, “Holy Trinity,” c. 1426–28. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
“The Annunciation” by Fra Angelico (ca. 1442-1443) (Photo:Web Gallery of ArtviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
“The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci (1495- 1498) (Photo:HaltadefinizioneviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling by Michelangelo (1508-1512) (Photo:Jean-Christophe BenoistviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
“The School of Athens” by Raphael (1511) (Photo:Vatican MuseumviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Michelangelo, “The Last Judgment,” 1536–41 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
“Detroit Industry Murals” by Diego Rivera (1933) (Photo:ashleystreetviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
