Murals and Frescos

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Murals and Frescos
A particular type of mural painting that is done on fresh wet lime plaster is called Fresco. In this type of fresco painting services you will see a merging of the paint pigment with the plaster by means of water. This creates a painting that is an integral piece of the wall. This type of painting has been done throughout the centuries and there are many excellent examples throughout the world.

The Italian adjective for fresh is fresco. There is a difference between fresco mural painting and secco mural painting. The latter is applied to dried plaster whereas the previous is applied to wet plaster. You will see a lot of this type of painting in the Italian Renaissance era.

A fresco painting serviceson a mural is difficult to do because of the plasters drying time. Plaster normally has a 10 to 12 hour window to dry. This would mean that an artist would need to begin his painting approximately one hour after the plaster was applied and finish approximately 2 hours before it was dry. This allows the artist a window to paint a mural of between 7 to 9 hours.

Once the plaster has dried there is absolutely no more painting that an artist can do on the mural. If there are any mistakes or further sections that require painting it becomes very difficult for the artist. He will either have to remove the entire section for the mistake has been made or change his method to a secco.

There were many popular frescoes created by both Raphael and Michelangelo. Both of these artists were masters of being able to make the illusion of depth in their painting. In fact, this is one of the trademarks that Michelangelo often used for his central figures that were within a fresco painting.

In the post classical era there was a painter, Isaac Master, who became quite talented using this technique. He was referred to as a frescoist because of using this technique. There are also many other famous artist throughout the centuries who have had the opportunity to master this unique form of painting.

As mentioned previously, a secco painting is painted on dry plaster. The paint pigments require a binding medium such as oil, egg, or glue to bind the pigment to the mural. There are 2 different types of secco paintings. One type is done completely on a blank wall while the other type is done on top of a buon fresco painting. This latter type was a standard painting technique from the Middle Ages onwards.

A buon fresco painting is a lot more durable than a secco painting that is added on top. The reason for this is because it last longer because of the rough plaster surface. A true fresco painting would have a smooth plaster service.

Sometimes, an additional secco painting was added to make changes or to add additional smaller details. Many people who look at an original fresco painting are often unaware of all of the subtleties that go into this remarkable work.