Fresco Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==History== [[File:Tomb 100 Hierakompolis, Naqada II culture (c. 3500-3200 BCE).jpg|400px|thumb|Reproduction of the earliest known fresco, Tomb 100, [[Hierakonpolis]], [[Naqada II]] culture, Egypt ({{Circa|3500–3200 BCE}})]] [[File:Investiture_of_Zimri-Lim_Louvre_AO19826_n01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''[[Investiture of Zimri-Lim]]'', Syria, fresco painted {{Circa|1770 BCE}}]] [[File:Fresco of a fisherman, Akrotiri, Greece.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''The Fisherman'', [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[Bronze Age]] fresco from [[Akrotiri (prehistoric city)|Akrotiri]], on the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] island of [[Santorini]] (classically Thera), dated to the Neo-Palatial period ({{Circa|1640–1600 BC}}). The settlement of Akrotiri was buried in volcanic ash (dated by [[radiocarbon dating]] to {{Circa|1627 BC}}) by the [[Minoan eruption]] on the island, which preserved many Minoan frescoes like this]] [[File:Velia Velcha Orcus II.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Etruscan art|Etruscan]] fresco of Velia Velcha from the [[Tomb of Orcus]], [[Tarquinia]]]] === Egypt and Ancient Near East === The first known Egyptian fresco was found in Tomb 100 at [[Hierakonpolis]], and dated to {{Circa|3500–3200 BC}}. Several of the themes and designs visible in the fresco are otherwise known from other [[Naqada II]] objects, such as the [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]]. It shows the scene of a "[[Master of Animals]]", a man fighting against two lions, individual fighting scenes, and Egyptian and foreign boats.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Case |first1=Humphrey |last2=Payne |first2=Joan Crowfoot |title=Tomb 100: The Decorated Tomb at Hierakonpolis |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=1962 |volume=48 |page=17 |doi=10.2307/3855778 |jstor=3855778 |issn=0307-5133}}</ref><ref name="IS">{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Ian|author-link=Ian Shaw (Egyptologist) |title=Ancient Egyptian Warfare: Tactics, Weaponry and Ideology of the Pharaohs |date=2019 |publisher=Open Road Media |isbn=978-1-5040-6059-2 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0q_CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT22 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kemp |first1=Barry J. |title=Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-56389-0 |page=94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FpqBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bestock |first1=Laurel |title=Violence and Power in Ancient Egypt: Image and Ideology before the New Kingdom |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-85626-8 |page=94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFQ7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="MKH424">{{cite book |last1=Hartwig |first1=Melinda K. |title=A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art |date=2014 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-32509-4 |page=424 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gF24BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA424 |language=en}}</ref> Ancient Egyptians painted many tombs and houses, but those wall paintings are not frescoes.<ref>Nina M. Davies: ''Ancient Egyptian paintings, Vol. III'', Chicago, 1963, p. xxxi [https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/paintings3.pdf?gathStatIcon=true online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510090552/https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/paintings3.pdf?gathStatIcon=true |date=10 May 2022 }}</ref> An old fresco from [[Mesopotamia]] is the ''[[Investiture of Zimri-Lim]]'' (modern [[Syria]]), dating from the early 18th century BC. === Aegean civilizations === The oldest frescoes done in the ''buon fresco'' method date from the first half of the second millennium BCE during the [[Bronze Age]] and are to be found among [[Aegean civilizations]], more precisely [[Minoan art]] from the island of [[Crete]] and other islands of the [[Aegean Sea]]. The most famous of these, the ''[[Bull-Leaping Fresco]]'', depicts a sacred ceremony in which individuals jump over the backs of large bulls. The oldest surviving Minoan frescoes are found on the island of [[Santorini]] (classically known as Thera), dated to the Neo-Palatial period ({{Circa|1640–1600 BC}}). While some similar frescoes have been found in other locations around the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Egypt and Morocco, their origins are subject to speculation. Some art historians believe that fresco artists from Crete may have been sent to various locations as part of a trade exchange, a possibility which raises to the fore the importance of this art form within the society of the times. The most common form of ''fresco'' was [[Egypt]]ian wall paintings in [[tomb]]s, usually using the ''a secco'' technique. ===Classical antiquity=== [[File:The so-called Sappho portrait, Pompeii (AD 45-79).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Fresco of "[[Sappho]]" from [[Pompeii]], {{Circa|50 CE}}]] Frescoes were also painted in [[ancient Greece]], but few of these works have survived. In southern Italy, at [[Paestum]], which was a [[Greek colony]] of the [[Magna Graecia]], a tomb containing frescoes dating back to 470 BC, the so-called [[Tomb of the Diver]], was discovered in June 1968. These frescoes depict scenes of the life and society of ancient Greece, and constitute valuable historical testimonials. One shows a group of men reclining at a [[symposium]], while another shows a young man diving into the sea. [[Etruscan art|Etruscan]] frescoes, dating from the 4th century BC, have been found in the [[Tomb of Orcus]] near [[Veii]], Italy. [[File:Kazanluk 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak]] frescoes, 4th century BC]] The richly decorated [[Thracians|Thracian]] frescoes of the [[Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak|Tomb of Kazanlak]] are dating back to 4th century BC, making it a [[UNESCO]] protected [[World Heritage Site]]. [[File:Thrace-ostrusha.jpg|250px|thumb|right|View of a woman's face in the central chamber of the [[Ostrusha mound]] built in the 4th century BC in [[Bulgaria]]]] [[Roman Empire|Roman]] wall paintings, such as those at the magnificent Villa dei Misteri (1st century BC) in the ruins of [[Pompeii]], and others at [[Herculaneum]], were completed in ''buon fresco.'' Roman (Christian) frescoes from the 1st to 2nd centuries AD were found in catacombs beneath Rome, and Byzantine icons were also found in [[Cyprus]], [[Crete]], [[Ephesus]], [[Cappadocia]], and [[Antioch]]. Roman frescoes were done by the artist painting the artwork on the still damp plaster of the wall, so that the painting is part of the wall, actually colored plaster. Also a historical collection of Ancient Christian frescoes can be found in the [[Churches of Göreme]]. ===India=== [[File:Indischer Maler des 6. Jahrhunderts 001.jpg|thumb|Fresco from the [[Ajanta Caves]] built and painted during the [[Gupta Empire]] in the 6th century AD]] Thanks to large number of ancient rock-cut cave temples, valuable ancient and early medieval frescoes have been preserved in more than 20 locations of India.<ref>[http://www.wondermondo.com/Best/As/IndMedCavePaint.htm Ancient and medieval Indian cave paintings - Internet encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624064956/http://www.wondermondo.com/Best/As/IndMedCavePaint.htm |date=24 June 2018 }} by Wondermondo. Retrieved 4 June 2010.</ref> The frescoes on the ceilings and walls of the [[Ajanta Caves]] were painted between {{Circa|200 BC and 600}} and are the oldest known frescoes in India. They depict the [[Jataka]] tales that are stories of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]'s life in former existences as [[Bodhisattva]]. The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in a linear order. Their identification has been a core area of research on the subject since the time of the site's rediscovery in 1819. Other locations with valuable preserved ancient and early medieval frescoes include [[Bagh Caves]], [[Ellora Caves]], [[Sittanavasal]], [[Armamalai Cave]], [[Badami Cave Temples]] and other locations. Frescoes have been made in several techniques, including tempera technique. The later [[Chola]] paintings were discovered in 1931 within the circumambulatory passage of the [[Brihadisvara Temple]] in India and are the first Chola specimens discovered. Researchers have discovered the technique used in these frescos. A smooth batter of limestone mixture was applied over the stones, which took two to three days to set. Within that short span, such large paintings were painted with natural organic pigments. During the [[Thanjavur Nayak|Nayak]] period, the Chola paintings were painted over. The Chola frescos lying underneath have an ardent spirit of [[saivism]] expressed in them. They probably synchronised with the completion of the temple by [[Rajaraja Cholan]] the Great. The frescoes in [[Dogras|Dogra]]/ Pahari style paintings exist in their unique form at [[Sheesh Mahal, Ramnagar|Sheesh Mahal]] of Ramnagar (105 km from [[Jammu]] and 35 km west of Udhampur). Scenes from epics of [[Mahabharat]] and [[Ramayan]] along with portraits of local lords form the subject matter of these wall paintings. [[Rang Mahal (Chamba)|Rang Mahal]] of Chamba ([[Himachal Pradesh]]) is another site of historic [[Dogri]] fresco with wall paintings depicting scenes of ''Draupti Cheer Haran'', and ''Radha- Krishna Leela''. This can be seen preserved at National Museum at New Delhi in a chamber called ''Chamba Rang Mahal''. During the Mughal Era, frescos were used for making interior design on walls and inside the ceilings of domes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.536426 | title=Lahore Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities | year=1892 }}</ref> [[File:The intricate roof work.jpg|thumb|The ceiling of Begum Shahi mosque in Lahore with Mughal style frescos]] ===Sri Lanka=== [[File:Sigiriya ladies.jpg|thumb|right|Sigiriya Fresco, Sri Lanka. {{Circa|477 – 495 AD}}]] [[File:Church of Deir Mar Musa 03.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Frescos in the [[Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian]], [[Syria]]]] The Sigiriya Frescoes are found in [[Sigiriya]] in [[Sri Lanka]]. Painted during the reign of [[Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura|King Kashyapa I]] (ruled 477 – 495 AD). The generally accepted view is that they are portrayals of women of the royal court of the king depicted as celestial nymphs showering flowers upon the humans below. They bear some resemblance to the Gupta style of painting found in the [[Ajanta Caves]] in [[India]]. They are, however, far more enlivened and colorful and uniquely Sri Lankan in character. They are the only surviving secular art from antiquity found in Sri Lanka today.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} The painting technique used on the Sigiriya paintings is "fresco lustro". It varies slightly from the pure fresco technique in that it also contains a mild binding agent or glue. This gives the painting added durability, as clearly demonstrated by the fact that they have survived, exposed to the elements, for over 1,500 years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ponnamperuma|first=Senani|title=Story of Sigiriya|date=2013|publisher=Panique Pty Ltd|location=Melbourne|isbn=9780987345110}}</ref> Located in a small sheltered depression a hundred meters above ground only 19 survive today. Ancient references, however, refer to the existence of as many as five hundred of these frescoes. ===Middle Ages=== [[File:Boyana Church Mural Paintings.jpg|upright=0.9|right|thumb|Interior view with the frescoes dating back to 1259, [[Boyana Church]] in [[Sofia]], [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage List]] landmark.]] [[File:044 Absis de Sant Climent de Taüll, el Crist en majestat.jpg|upright=0.9|right|thumb|[[Pantocrator]] from [[Sant Climent de Taüll]], in [[MNAC Barcelona]]]] [[File:Beli andjeo2.jpg|upright=0.9|right|thumb|[[Myrrhbearers]] on Christ's Grave, c 1235 AD, [[Mileševa monastery]] in [[Serbia]]n]] The late [[Medieval]] period and the [[Renaissance]] saw the most prominent use of fresco, particularly in Italy, where most churches and many government buildings still feature fresco decoration. This change coincided with the reevaluation of murals in the [[liturgy]].<ref>{{cite journal| url = https://www.academia.edu/8526688| title = Péter Bokody, ''Mural Painting as a Medium: Technique, Representation and Liturgy'', Image and Christianity: Visual Media in the Middle Ages, Pannonhalma Abbey, 2014, 136-151| journal = Péter Bokody (Ed.). Image and Christianity: Visual Media in the Middle Ages. Exhibition Catalog. Pannonhalma: Pannonhalma Abbey, 2014| date = January 2014| last1 = Bokody| first1 = Peter}}</ref> [[Romanesque church]]es in [[Catalonia]] were richly painted in 12th and 13th century, with both decorative and educational—for the illiterate faithfuls—roles, as can be seen in the [[Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya|MNAC]] in [[Barcelona]], where is kept a large collection of Catalan romanesque art.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Español|first1=Francesca|last2=Yarza|first2=Joaquín|others=Fotografies de Ramon Manent, Pere Pascual i Rosina Ramírez|title=El romànic català|date=2007|publisher=Angle Editorial|location=Barcelona|isbn=9788496970090|edition=1.|language=ca}}</ref> In Denmark too, [[Church frescos in Denmark|church wall paintings]] or ''kalkmalerier'' were widely used in the Middle Ages (first Romanesque, then Gothic) and can be seen in some 600 Danish churches as well as in churches in the south of Sweden, which was Danish at the time.<ref>[http://www.natmus.dk/cons/walls/chrchpnt.htm Kirsten Trampedach, "Introduction to Danish wall paintings - Conservation ethics and methods of treatment from the National Museum of Denmark"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124021603/http://www.natmus.dk/cons/walls/chrchpnt.htm |date=24 November 2009 }}. Retrieved 2 March 2010.</ref> One of the rare examples of [[Islamic]] fresco painting can be seen in [[Qasr Amra]], the desert palace of the Umayyads in the 8th century Magotez. ===Early modern Europe=== Fresco painting continued into the [[Baroque]] in southern Europe, for churches and especially palaces. [[Gianbattista Tiepolo]] was arguably the last major exponent of this tradition, with huge schemes for palaces in Madrid and [[Würzburg Residence#Staircase|Würzburg]] in Germany. Northern [[Romania]] (historical region of [[Moldavia]]) boasts about a dozen [[Churches of Moldavia|painted monasteries]], completely covered with frescos inside and out, that date from the last quarter of the 15th century to the second quarter of the 16th century. The most remarkable are the monastic foundations at [[Voroneț Monastery|Voroneţ]] (1487), [[Arbore]] (1503), [[Humor Monastery|Humor]] (1530), and [[Moldovița Monastery|Moldoviţa]] (1532). [[Sucevița Monastery|Suceviţa]], dating from 1600, represents a late return to the style developed some 70 years earlier. The tradition of painted churches continued into the 19th century in other parts of Romania, although never to the same extent.<ref>Anca Vasiliu, "Monastères de Moldavie (XIVème-XVIème siècles)", Paris Mediterranée, 1998</ref> Henri [[Clément Serveau]] produced several frescos including a three by six meter painting for the ''Lycée de [[Meaux]]'', where he was once a student. He directed the ''École de fresques'' at {{Lang|fr|l'[[École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts]]|italic=no}}, and decorated the ''Pavillon du Tourisme'' at the 1937 {{Lang|fr|[[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne]]|italic=no}} (Paris), ''Pavillon de la Ville de Paris''; now at [[Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/memoire/00258615| title = Ministère de la Culture (France) - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Exposition internationale des arts et techniques de 1937}}</ref> In 1954 he realized a fresco for the Cité Ouvrière du Laboratoire Débat, Garches.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|IA00048574|Cité ouvrière du Laboratoire Débat}}</ref> He also executed mural decorations for the ''Plan des anciennes enceintes de Paris'' in the [[Musée Carnavalet]].<ref name="Waterhouse & Dodd">{{Cite web |url=http://www.waterhousedodd.com/clement-serveau |title=Waterhouse & Dodd Fine Art 1850-2000 |access-date=15 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711040559/http://www.waterhousedodd.com/clement-serveau |archive-date=11 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Foujita chapel]] in [[Reims]] completed in 1966, is an example of modern frescos, the interior being painted with religious scenes by the [[School of Paris]] painter [[Tsuguharu Foujita]]. In 1996, it was designated an historic monument by the French government. ===Mexican muralism=== [[José Clemente Orozco]], [[Fernando Leal (artist)|Fernando Leal]], [[David Siqueiros]] and [[Diego Rivera]] the famous Mexican artists, renewed the art of fresco painting in the 20th century. Orozco, Siqueiros, Rivera and his wife [[Frida Kahlo]] contributed more to the history of Mexican fine arts and to the reputation of Mexican art in general than anybody else. Channeling pre-Columbian Mexican artworks including the true frescoes at Teotihuacan, Orozco, Siqueiros, River and Fernando Leal established the art movement known as ''[[Mexican Muralism]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mexican Muralism {{!}} Modern Latin America |url=https://library.brown.edu/create/modernlatinamerica/chapters/chapter-3-mexico/moments-in-mexican-history/mexican-muralism/ | author=Sophie Friedman |website=Brown University Library}}</ref> ===Contemporary=== There have been comparatively few frescoes created since the 1960s but there are some significant exceptions. The American artist, Brice Marden's monochrome works first shown in 1966 at Bykert Gallery, New York were inspired by frescos and "watching masons plastering stucco walls."<ref>[https://brooklynrail.org/2006/10/art/brice-marden Brooklyn Rail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194006/https://brooklynrail.org/2006/10/art/brice-marden |date=5 October 2021 }} "Brice Marden with Jeffrey Weiss", October 2006.</ref> While Marden employed the imagistic effects of fresco, [[David Novros]] was developing a 50-year practice around the technique. David Novros is an American painter and a muralist of geometric abstraction. In 1968 Donald Judd commissioned Novros to create a work at 101 Spring Street, New York, NY soon after he had purchased the building.<ref>[https://juddfoundation.org/index-of-works/no-title-101-spring-street-1970/ Judd Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194005/https://juddfoundation.org/index-of-works/no-title-101-spring-street-1970/ |date=5 October 2021 }} "Index of works- David Novros", 2013.</ref> Novros used medieval techniques to create the mural by "first preparing a full-scale cartoon, which he transferred to the wet plaster using the traditional pouncing technique," the act of passing powdered pigment onto the plaster through tiny perforations in a cartoon.<ref>Matthew L. Levy, "David Novro’s Painted Places", in David Novros, exh. Cat. (Bielefeld: Kerber, 2014),50.</ref> The surface unity of the fresco was important to Novros in that the pigment he used bonded with the drying plaster, becoming part of the wall rather than a surface coating. This site-specific work was Novros's first true fresco, which was restored by the artist in 2013. The American painter, [[James Hyde (artist)|James Hyde]] first presented frescoes in New York at the Esther Rand Gallery, Thompkins Square Park in 1985. At that time Hyde was using true fresco technique on small panels made of cast concrete arranged on the wall. Throughout the next decade Hyde experimented with multiple rigid supports for the fresco plaster including composite board and plate glass. In 1991 at John Good Gallery in New York City, Hyde debuted true fresco applied on an enormous block of Styrofoam. Holland Cotter of the New York Times described the work as "objectifying some of the individual elements that have made modern paintings paintings."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/12/arts/art-in-review-884293.html? Holland Cotter,New York Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194004/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/12/arts/art-in-review-884293.html |date=5 October 2021 }} "Art in Review", March 1993.</ref> While Hyde's work "ranges from paintings on photographic prints to large-scale installations, photography, and abstract furniture design" his frescoes on Styrofoam have been a significant form of his work since the 1980s.<ref>[https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/james-hyde/ Guggenheim, John Simon Memorial Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194006/https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/james-hyde/ |date=5 October 2021 }} ''Awarded Fellows'', 2008.</ref> The frescoes have been shown throughout Europe and the United States. In ArtForum David Pagel wrote, "like ruins from some future archaeological dig, Hyde's nonrepresentational frescoes on large chunks of Styrofoam give suggestive shape to the fleeting landscape of the present."<ref>[https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/199310/james-hyde-54400 David Pagel, "James Hyde, Angles Gallery"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194003/https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/199310/james-hyde-54400 |date=5 October 2021 }} ''Art Forum'', December 1993.</ref> Over its long history, practitioners of frescoes always took a careful methodological approach. Hyde's frescoes are done improvisationally. The contemporary disposability of the Styrofoam structure contrast the permanence of the classical fresco technique. In 1993, Hyde mounted four automobile sized frescoes on Styrofoam suspended from a brick wall. Progressive Insurance commissioned this site-specific work for the monumental 80- foot atrium in their headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.<ref>[https://www.progressive.com/about/art/installations/ Progressive Insurance, "Installations- James Hyde"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194005/https://www.progressive.com/about/art/installations/ |date=5 October 2021 }} ''Progressive Insurance'', 1993.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page