The Process of Fresco Painting

The art of fresco painting dates back to Roman times but was reborn durring the late 1200's with Giotto. It became the noble way to decorate walls in churches,chapels,government buildings and even wealthy estates. Throughout the Renaissance in Italy, fresco painting thrived and reached it's pinacle with Michelangelo's Sisitine Chapel ceiling and Last Judgement. The art of fresco painting became the true test of an artist's ability and talent. The process involves covering large areas of masonry wall and or ceiling with several coats of lime plaster with the finish coat, called the intonaco, troweled smooth to receive the transfered design and color.  The cartoon (the scaled design or drawing) is transfered to the finish coat of wet lime plaster by ways of pricking pin holes through the paper outlining  all the details and reference points necessary. A fine dust of charcoal is then pounced over the transfer paper into the pin holes thus leaving a dotted duplicate of the cartoon. The cartoon is removed and painting can begin immediately while the plaster remains damp. Lime proof natural pigments are prepared ahead of time in the form of water colors when mixed with distilled water in small jars.  Brushes made of hog hair are used to apply the color. The palette of color is limited because they have to be able to resist the lime alkalinity. The window of time to execute a fresco is usually 4 to 6 hours, after that when the plaster dries it cannot accept any more paint.  The beauty of a fresco is when the plaster and pigment become joined together in a chemical bond that forms where the pigment is no longer on the surface, rather integral to the plaster itself.

Fresco Panel Construction

I  conceived of the theme about 20 years ago and made several test panels at that time. At the end of 2018 I decided to give it another look to see if covering the Galleria ceiling with frescoes was more realistic this time.  After a month of finalizing the cartoons I made two decades ago, I took inventory of the materials needed for the project. First of all painting directly on the ceiling was ruled out, instead constructing indivudual panels and fastening them to the ceiling was the right way to proceed. So the panels had to be lightweight and managable since the average size was roughly 3' x 4'. A finished panel had to weight no more than 45 lbs. With that in mind, it also had to have a strong frame. I chose red oak 5/4" thick to be the frame . The most important part of the panel is the central core which will receive the plaster. It has to be made of a cemetious material that will hold mositure and create a good bond to the intonaco. After attaching wire lath to the frame, the core is filled with foam cement, a lightweight pumice like material that will act as a sponge to hold moisture and have a moon like surface to help bond the plaster. Once the foam cement sets, it is scraped to a depth of 1/8:" below the surface of the frame. The intonaco is made of one part white marble dust to one part lime putty mixed to the consistency of whipped butter.  It is then tightly troweled into the foam cement surface and screeded to the surface of the oak frame. After a few minutes it is troweled to a smooth slick finish and ready to be painted.

First Christians Fresco Cycle -Galleria Ceiling

The subject of portraying the first christians before they became saints gave me the opportunity to see them as mere mortals each with a unique personality.  So I began to form a character study on each figure. For example, Andrew was the first called and was a simple fisherman so I drew him mending his fishing nets as any other fisherman woud do. He is presented in a very humble way, with a stare of being unworthy for such a commitment.  On the other hand there is Matthew, a gospel writer, who seems annoyed that someone is looking at his writings and turns to protect his writing from being revealed. So one by one the figures acquire their vocation from those who will write, preach to the world, be persecuted or  matryed, A total of 27 figures with decorative and symbolic images will fill the over 500 sq. ft. cathedral ceiling space.