Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Renaissance Frescoes
Frescoes decorate the walls of churches, public
buildings and private palaces throughout Tuscany.
Renaissance artists, in particular, favoured the medium
of fresco painting for decorating new buildings. The
word
fresco
, meaning “fresh”, refers to the technique of
painting on to a thin layer of damp, freshly laid plaster.
Pigments are drawn into the plaster by surface tension
and the colour becomes fixed as the plaster dries. The
pigments react with the lime in the plaster to produce
very strong, vivid colours. As the colours do not lie on
the surface, restorers are able to remove the superficial
soot and grime that have accumulated over the years
to reveal the original, embedded colours
(see pp56-7)
.
Chiaroscuro
This is a subtle method of
contrasting light and dark
for dramatic effect.
Jewel-like Colours
Artists used rare, costly minerals to
create bright, striking pigments. The blue
of Mary's robe in Piero della Francesca's
Madonna del Parto
(c.1460)
(see p197)
is made from lapis lazuli.
Earth colours
such as reds and
browns came from clay-based
paints containing iron.
White pigment
was
used for important
highlights because it
reflects light.
Use of Sinopia
The outlines of the fresco
were drawn on to the plaster
undercoat using a red pig-
ment called
sinopia
. This
layer was visible through the
final plaster coat, guiding
the artist as he painted in
the details
(see p156)
.
