Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages: Fresco

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    The technique of painting, known from antiquity and especially popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was used to decorate the walls and ceilings of churches, public buildings, and private dwellings.


    The bare wall was first dampened and coated with a layer of coarse lime plaster, called arriccio, on which the design was drawn or brushed in red earth pigment (sinopia). The overall composition was painted in sections known as giornate—Italian for a day's work. Each of these sections was composed of a smooth plaster layer called intonaco. Pigments diluted in water were applied directly to the wet plaster to ensure the permanence of the painting. Embellishments applied to a dry wall—fresco a secco (secco is the Italian word for dry)—do not have the same durability, as the paint tends to flake off over time. Because fresco is vulnerable to moisture and may be damaged in a cool, damp environment, the arid Mediterranean climate is favorable for its preservation.


    Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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