The Project Gutenberg eBook ofFresco PaintingThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Fresco PaintingAuthor: James WardRelease date: October 24, 2018 [eBook #58159]Most recently updated: January 24, 2021Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chuck Greif, deaurider and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRESCO PAINTING ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Fresco PaintingAuthor: James WardRelease date: October 24, 2018 [eBook #58159]Most recently updated: January 24, 2021Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chuck Greif, deaurider and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)
Title: Fresco Painting
Author: James Ward
Author: James Ward
Release date: October 24, 2018 [eBook #58159]Most recently updated: January 24, 2021
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Chuck Greif, deaurider and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRESCO PAINTING ***
Contents.
List of Illustrations(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] clicking on the image will bring up a larger version.)
(etext transcriber's note)
FRESCO PAINTING
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE BUONOAND SPIRIT FRESCO METHODSBYJAMES WARDAUTHOR OF“PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT,” “COLOUR HARMONY AND CONTRAST,”“HISTORIC ORNAMENT,” “PROGRESSIVE DESIGN,” ETC.With Four Plates in Colour and Thirty-one Half-tone Illustrationsof Italian and other Fresco PaintingsLONDONCHAPMAN AND HALL,Ltd.1909
Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., ANDBUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
Ihaveendeavoured in this treatise to place before students some practical hints in the methods and processes of fresco painting, which are the outcome of my experience in the practice of the “buon-fresco,” and the “spirit-fresco” systems of wall decoration. As to the stereochrome, or German “water-glass,” and its later variety, the Keims process of fresco painting, I do not pretend to have a definite knowledge, having no practical experience in painting in these methods, but, on seeing the condition of some frescos in England which have been executed in stereochromy, I should prefer to trust to the buon-fresco or to the spirit-fresco mediums when it is a question of the permanency of wall paintings.
It is common enough to-day to hear and to read of the condemnation of fresco painting by critics, and even by some eminent artists, all of whom seem to echo each other in pointing out the failures in the examples executed on the walls of the Houses of Parliament and other places; and all agree, because of these failures, that fresco painting is impossible in this country, owing to the dampness of theclimate. Our damp climate seems to have a deal to answer for, but it is hardly fair to blame it for the ignorance of some of our mid-Victorian artists as to the nature and behaviour of the materials used in fresco painting, and for their possibly limited knowledge of the chemistry of colours and the after action of caustic lime on the colours they used.
I trust that the technical notes and observations on some of the Italian frescos may be of interest and of some value to students of decorative art.
J. Ward.
Whenconsidering the subject of mural painting, and indeed the progress and development of art generally, of the so-called “fine arts,” or of the lesser arts that minister to the uses and wants of everyday life, we cannot regard them as isolated creations of human activity apart from their legitimate connection with the laws and principles of good architecture. The progress, development, culmination, and decadence of architecture synchronize with the similar stages of painting and sculpture.
In a noble building the special functions of the three sister arts are clearly defined; each supplies its own distinct qualities of expression to make up the general artistic unity. The severe lines and proportional rhythm of the architecture are enriched by sculpture, which in its turn is chastened and modified by the contiguous severity of the former,while painting adds the necessary colour finish to the bare spaces that are enclosed by the mouldings and constructional lines of the architecture, borrowing at the same time much of its dignity, restfulness of form, simplicity of composition, and whatever else that adds to its nobility and monumental fitness, from its close association with the architecture. Thus, while the three arts are each limited to their own special functions, they, at the same time, would appear to assimilate from each other what is lacking in themselves, and so contribute to the complete artistic harmony.
Painting, as the most ornate of the three, owing to its greater power of expression and beauty of colour, must nevertheless be employed todecorate, in the true sense of the word, the plain spaces in a building, and in the largest and simplest manner, without any definite attempts to represent the true facts of nature, or at least it should be suggestive of such facts rather than descriptive of them.
The arrangement and composition of line, restfulness of the masses of form, and the harmonic balance and purity of colour are among the primary essentials of mural painting, and all these indispensable requisites of this form of art are due to its contact with architecture. While bearing this in mind, we must not forget that painting has its special functions apart from those of architecture, which include a controlling power over form and colour, and the faculty of illustrating ideas, by meansof the representation of a theme or an incident, a subject or a story.
Now if the essentials of monumental painting, which we have named, and the special functions of the art of the painter are united in any scheme of mural decoration, the result would be an ideal work of decorative art, examples of which may be found in the frescos of Giotto, and in those of the majority of the Italian painters who followed him, down to the sublime creations of Michael Angelo.
The older art of the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Mediæval schools was, in each case, influenced by, and in perfect harmony with the architecture of the respective periods, and not less, but even more so, were the painting and sculpture of Italy from the middle of the thirteenth century till the end of the sixteenth century. The Byzantine and Romanesque mosaics which decorate the churches of Ravenna, Venice and Rome are dignified and sculpturesque in treatment, and from an ornamental point of view, admirablyfillthe architectural spaces of both walls and vaulted ceilings. The artists of these ancient schools rightly treated the wall spaces as flat surfaces, the wall being strictly considered as such, and no attempt was made to treat the subject of the painting in pictorial perspective, or to give the wall the illusion of a window. The subject or incident, was also, for the most part, mystic in character, and elevated in a spiritual sense, so that the very soul of their artwas expressed and symbolized; while what we may call the bodily part, either from a want of their power of expressing it or from a careless or studied neglect of this side of their art, was limited and incomplete. And even when, in later times, the science of art, as expressed in anatomy and perspective, was well understood, this traditional treatment of the design was followed out by the Italian artists, both in their mosaics and wall paintings, and was never lost sight of by the painters subsequent to Giotto, until the seventeenth century, when the general decadence of art had set in.
The three absolute essentials of ancient and mediæval painting, which also characterized the best work of the Renaissance, appear to have been a striving after the symbolic expression of the spirit of the subject, a restfulness and dignity of form, and the beauty of colour. Whatever else we look for, we ought to find these three essentials in a successful work of monumental painting. In this kind of art, and indeed in all art, small things should be sacrificed to great, and the commonplace or matter-of-fact to the rendering or expression of the idea; in parentheses, it might be pointed out, that in a general sense the tendency of the art of the present day is towards a greater dexterity of handling closer representations of the facts of nature, but less sincerity of aim.
The more important paintings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were those which decoratedthe walls of the Italian churches and palaces, and the authors of these works were not only painters, but the majority of them were also architects, sculptors, and craftsmen in gold and silver work. Even those who confined their attention chiefly to painting, thoroughly understood the principles of architecture, and often designed and carried out architectural work, as witness Giotto, Ghirlandajo, Michael Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and many others.
If we now consider another aspect of art, where it is applied to objects of general utility, we shall find that the design and decoration of such, when rightly understood, are in each case subject to the laws that govern good architecture. Take, for instance, the form or shape of a common candlestick, a vase in pottery or in metal, a cabinet or a chair, and let us see how far we can apply the principles of architecture to their design and decoration. When designing such objects the first consideration is their utility, and the next is the material of which they are made. It is a common enough truism to say that the forms and proportions which may be suitable for objects made in a certain material, such as pottery or glass for example, should not be imitated in another, such as metal or woodwork. When the questions of utility and material have been settled, we can apply the laws and principles of architecture to guide us in the design and decoration of the given object. As to design, first, we should strive to obtain good proportion of the parts and divisions to each other,and to the whole. It will be found that correct proportion generally postulates the determination of beautiful outlines and shapes. We should also aim for the expression of contrasting elements of forms, such as curves with straight lines, sharp curves with others of less curvature, horizontal lines to counteract vertical tendencies, or mouldings and lines of varying widths arranged to fit in such positions that will give, or suggest, constructive strength; all of which are simply architectural principles, which, if applied to the design of common objects, would give them a definite claim to be considered as works of art.
Very little decoration is required on any article or object which has been designed on correct architectural principles, beyond that already expressed by the lines or mouldings and space divisions. If, however, the nature or use of the object permits of the display, or adventitious aid of such, in order to heighten its beauty, by making it still more attractive and comely to the eye, then the laws and principles of architecture will again help us by indicating where the decoration may be placed, the right amount to use, the scale of such, and the order of its disposition. We learn, for instance, from architecture that we must not weaken the appearance of the constructive parts, such as the lines, or the mouldings, by any fretful ornamentation, but on the panels and plain spaces we may legitimately place our decoration, yet still restrained so far as not to interfere with the right uses of the object, and designed so as to harmonize,and in some instances contrast, with the lines and contour. Examples of artistic objects, designed on architectural principles, may be found in the Greek and Etruscan vases and Pompeian bronzes, and, on the other hand, if some examples may be mentioned where the laws of architecture do not find expression in their form or decoration, and where art is almost non-existing, we might safely point out the meretricious creations of the Chelsea and Dresden chinaware, and the gold and silversmiths’ work of the mid-Victorian period. This digression from our subject may be justified, on the grounds of showing how important the study of architecture is to the painter, the decorative artist, and to the designer in any branch of art.
Variousprocesses, systems, or methods have been employed in ancient and modern times in the colour decoration of walls and ceilings. Under this section of art is included all kinds of wall paintings, from the representation of the symbolic hieroglyphics, found in the Egyptian tombs, to the monumental paintings on the walls of public buildings, churches, and palaces. The decoration of wall surfaces in colour is one of the very oldest forms of art, and to a wall painting of any kind the term “fresco” has usually, but somewhat loosely, been applied. Strictly speaking, however, a veritable fresco painting is one that is executed on the fresh or wet lime plaster of the wall, and is not re-touched after the plaster has become dry. All other varieties of so-called “fresco” paintings can only be designated as wall paintings, and qualified according to their kind, such as “fresco-secco,” or “dry” fresco, a kind of fresco where the wall is prepared in the same way as in true fresco, and is then allowed to dry. Before the painting is commenced, the wall is well saturated with lime water, and the colours usedare the same as those employed in fresco painting. It is not so permanent as work executed on the fresh, wet plaster. Some of the old writers frequently use the term “secco” when tempera painting is evidently meant. Painting intemperaon the dry wall is a process in which the colours are tempered with a binding medium, such as glue size, gum, parchment size, or a size made from eggs beaten up with water; the Italian painters added the juice, or gum, of the fig tree, and sometimes vinegar to the egg size. Other methods areencaustic, or painting with wax as a medium, heat being afterwards applied to the wall to blend or to protect the colours;spirit fresco, in which the colours are ground in a wax medium and thinned with spirits of turpentine or oil of spike;water-glass, a German method of wall painting; Keim’s process, an improved variety of water-glass, and wall painting in oil colours.
The only advantage that these varieties of wall painting seem to possess over thebuon, or true fresco, process—and it may be considered as a questionable one—is, that as regards the number of the colours, the artist may use an almost unlimited or unrestricted palette, while in buon fresco his colours are limited to the very few which remain unchanged when subjected to the caustic action of the lime in the plaster. Tempera painting on walls has been so much mistaken for the fresco process that it is impossible to say when the latter was first practised, but according to the statements ofVitruvius and Pliny, the process was well understood by the Greeks and Romans. Perhaps one of the most interesting revelations in the history of the art has been brought about by the discovery of several fragments of wall and ceiling decorations, found recently by the late Dr. Schliemann during the excavations of the ancient cities and palaces of the pre-Hellenic Mycene and Tiryns, of primitive Greece. One of these fragments of fresco painting, which was found in a palace at Tiryns, consisted of a portion of a wall or ceiling, a stucco slab, composed of lime and sand plaster, on which is painted the representation of a spirited bull with the figure of a man vaulting over its back. This interesting piece of work must have been executed at least as early as 1500B.C., as the city of Tiryns was a mass of ruins shortly after this date. Many other fragments of fresco paintings have also been found in the ruins of these ancient palaces, some of which were decorated with linear and geometric ornament, conventional flowers, and animal forms. Not only were the walls and ceilings decorated with frescos, but the floors of some of the apartments were treated in a similar manner. Still earlier examples of fresco painting have been found in prehistoric Thera, one of the Grecian isles, and others in the Minoan palace at Cnossus, in Crete, both of which may have been painted as early as the nineteenth centuryB.C., and certainly not later than the eighteenth.
[To face p. 10Plate 2.—Fragment of Ancient Fresco from Tiryns
[To face p. 10Plate 2.—Fragment of Ancient Fresco from Tiryns
[To face p. 10
Plate 2.—Fragment of Ancient Fresco from Tiryns
The wall paintings of the Egyptian tombs were executed in tempera on a gesso or stucco white ground, the same method being followed in the decoration of the mummy cases and other objects. In some instances these tempera paintings of the Egyptians were varnished, which was not an advantage to their appearance, as the varnish darkened, and in a great measure destroyed, the beauty of the original colours.
Some of the wall paintings found at Pompeii are said to have been executed in veritable fresco, since lime has been found in mixture with most of the colours used. On the other hand, this has been disputed, and some authorities classify them as tempera or secco paintings; but perhaps the truth of the matter is, that a certain amount of the first colouring was really executed on the wet lime plaster, and that, in some instances, certain colours, used in the finishing of the work, were applied afterwards in a tempera medium when the wall surface had become quite dry. This method of procedure, according to the statements of Vasari and Cennini, was not an uncommon practice with the Italianfrescantiof the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Fresco-buono, or true fresco, is so called because the painting is executed “a fresco,” that is, directly on the fresh, or wet plaster, which forms the painting surface of the wall. This plaster, or mortar, is a mixture of lime and sand, and the colours used in the painting are such as will remain unchanged in hue when in contact or in mixture with the lime. When all necessary details relating to the method of procedure connected with the work are carefully carried out, true fresco paintings may be said to have a higher degree of permanence and durability than those executed by any other method or medium. The fine surface texture and luminous quality of buon fresco pre-eminently distinguishes it as the most beautiful colour finish for mural decoration.
The great permanence of fresco paintings is due to the formation of carbonates, and sometimes silicates, of lime on the surface of the plaster, which takes place during the drying of the latter. Thecarbonic acid contained in the natural limestone is driven out of it by the process of burning in the kiln, and after the burnt lime has been slaked into lime “putty,” it has then become what is known as a hydrate of lime. As long as the plaster is wet on the wall the lime in the plaster exists in the state of a hydrate, and the applied colours of the painting become saturated with this form of lime; but during the process of drying, the lime on the surface, and to a slight depth below the surface of the plaster, rapidly absorbs carbonic acid gas from the atmosphere, and becomes a carbonate of lime, which is formed as a hard and crystalline skin, or surface covering, under which the colours are locked up, and so protected from any atmospheric influences. In addition to this carbonate surface a silicate of lime is sometimes formed, especially when in the painting some of the more earthy colours are used which may have silica in their composition. These thin coverings of carbonates and silicates of lime render fresco paintings impervious to wet or damp on the surface, so that they may be occasionally washed without injury; but bad air, such as sulphuretted hydrogen gases, or the sulphur products given off by gas and coal combustion, will in time convert the carbonate covering into a sulphate of lime, a substance which disintegrates and destroys, not only the colours, but the plaster surface also. This would suggest that in buildings which contain fresco paintings coal fires and gas should not be used forheating and lighting purposes, and also that the buildings should be properly ventilated.
Preparation of the Wall in Buon-Fresco:
The wall on which a work in buon-fresco is to be painted should be of good brick, or if a stone wall, it should be lined with brick on its inner face, or, better still, it should be what is known as a hollow brick wall—that is, one having an air-space between the outer and inner linings. The joints between the bricks should be scored out, so as to leave a key for the first coating of rough plaster; this should consist of old lime and coarse, gritty, well-washed river sand, mixed with ox-hair, or white asbestos cut into small bits, so as to bind the mixture more effectually. For this first coating of plaster the usual proportions are one part of lime and two parts of the gritty sand; it should be about three-quarters of an inch in thickness. This coating should have a roughened surface, made by scratching it with a coarse-toothed kind of wooden comb, and should be left for the best part of a year, so that it may thoroughly harden, before it receives the second, and last, coat of plaster, that on which the painting is to be executed, which is known as theintonaco. This plaster mixture must be prepared with great care, and more than sufficient to cover the whole wall space should be made before beginning the painting, so as to get the whole surface evenly tempered, and of the same mixture;for if different mixtures were made, and at different times, the lime and sand might vary in proportions, which would possibly affect the colours of the painting, and prevent them drying uniformly, as to tint or tone.
The proportions of lime and sand for the intonaco is, one part of lime and three parts of fine and well-washed river sand. Pit sand must not be used, on account of the clay and earthy matter which it contains; nor sea sand, which of course contains a certain amount of salt that would attract damp and cause the lime to perish. The lime must be well slaked, and must be fairly old in the “putty” state, so that there may be no fear of its blistering and blowing off here and there in round flakes on the finished surface, which it will do if it is too new or not properly slaked, even six or eight months after the plaster has been spread on the wall.
The method of preparing lime for fresco work is, first to select the best white variety which has been properly calcined. The lime is put into a large wooden trough with sufficient clean water to slake and dissolve it into a thin creamy consistency. The mixture is then strained through a fine sieve into a brick-lined pit, roofed over to keep out the wet and dust. A thick coating of clean river sand should be put over the lime when it has cooled down and thickened into a paste, and has become what is known as “lime putty.”
There are many tales and legends concerning theextreme old age of lime putty before it has been used in the plaster of wall surfaces, or as a painting material in fresco.
It has been stated that for some of the Italian frescos the lime used was eighty years old. As a matter of fact it is quite ripe for use about one year after it has been slaked. The lime used by Sir Edward J. Poynter in his fresco in St. Stephen’s Church at Dulwich was about two years old, and that used in the Houses of Parliament frescos was three years. The quality of the lime, however, is of more consequence than its age. The common grey lime used by the London builders should be avoided; the best English variety is the pure white limestone, which is quarried and burnt near Buxton in Derbyshire.
Before describing the method of laying on the last plaster ground, or intonaco, a few words must be said about the preparation of the design or subject to be painted. A finished coloured drawing or painting of the design, to a smaller, or even to the same scale as the fresco painting, must be prepared, and the artist should endeavour to make an exact copy of this on the plaster surface, as there is no time to experiment in colour schemes, or to make alterations from the original coloured design in the short period that is at the disposal of the painter when he is at work on the wet plaster. If the colour sketch of the work is prepared on a small scale it will be also necessary that a cartoonin light and shade drawing should be made to the full scale of the fresco painting, before beginning to paint on the wall.
As the colours, and everything else that may be required, must be in readiness, and close at hand before laying on the plaster ground and before commencing the painting, it will be as well to indicate here the proper colours which may be safely used on the lime plaster.
Although the palette in buon-fresco painting is very simple and restricted as to the number of the colours which may be trusted to withstand the caustic action of the lime, at the same time a fairly rich and luminous colour scheme may be obtained, notwithstanding the limited range of the palette. The following list may be safely relied upon:—
There are other pigments that might be used, but are really not necessary, and some of them are doubtful as to their permanence. One colour, not in our list, is the genuine ultramarine, a splendid blue, and thoroughly permanent in buon-fresco, but its great price prohibits its use, except in very small quantities, or on small portions of the work. French, or factitious, ultramarine is also very permanent, and withstands the action of the lime, but at the same time it is a most harsh and disagreeable colour when used in lime or in any other kind of fresco; when used alone it destroys by its intensity of hue the proper values of other colours in the scheme; on the other hand, if any attempt is made to tone it down by mixing it with another pigment, or by glazing another colour over it, the result is cold and muddy in the extreme, so it is best left out of the list, as it is almost unmanageable in fresco. Vermilion is rendered durable in fresco by pouring lime-water over the powdered colour, and then draining this water off, without disturbing the colour. This washing is repeated four or five times, before the vermilion is ready for use. Permanent white, which is a barium sulphate, and tin white, or tin binoxide, may both be used in lime frescoes, but they are unnecessary, and not so good for the purpose aslime white. Lemon yellow, Naples yellow, aureolin, Venetian red, and terre-verte may be used with lime, but it all depends on the manufacture of these colours as to whether or not they may be used with safety. For example, the Naples yellow, Venetian red, and terre-verte pigments of to-day are quite different in their chemical constituents to the same named colours of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Yellow ochre, though it has been used very much by the old Italian frescanti, is not to be depended upon when used in lime fresco in this country, as it consists of a mixture or combination of hydrate of iron and clay; it therefore attracts the damp that is nearly always present in our atmosphere. Of course, it can be safely used in very dry climates, but it may be mentioned that it has been one of the pigments which has largely perished in some of the frescos of the Houses of Parliament. Another objection to its use in fresco is, that the caustic nature of the lime is apt to change yellow ochre to a light red, an after effect which may not be altogether desirable. Raw sienna, however, more than takes the place of yellow ochre, and is one of the most useful colours in fresco painting. We should say that the three most permanent and beautiful colours for use on the lime plaster are raw sienna, burnt umber, and Indian red, and whether used in transparent washes or in solid tints, as when mixed with lime-white, or in the full strength of their hues, they always dry out luminous and brilliant. All thecolours should be ground very finely in water, and kept in covered jars or wide-mouthed glass bottles. The lime-white should be strained through muslin and kept covered. A bone or ivory palette knife must be used, and the palette should be made of tinned metal, having a series of small circular wells to hold the various colours. Brushes are of the ordinary kind, hog-hair, and a few long sable riggers. Hog-hair brushes are best for use when they are of a flat shape, but of a roundish finish at the end, like an old or half-worn brush, so that when in use they will not disturb the surface of the wet plaster, which a new or square-ended brush is apt to do.
When everything is in readiness to commence work, a portion of the rough wall surface should be thoroughly saturated with water, and the plaster ground, or intonaco, should be laid on with a wooden trowel, beginning at the top and at an angle of the wall, and large enough in area to constitute a day’s work, or, rather, as much as can be done in about five hours; for after that time it is not safe to work on the new plaster, as it then becomes too dry: if allowed to get in this condition the colours will not properly incorporate with the body of the plaster, for if any painting is done when the plaster is in a half-dry state the colours will not adhere permanently to the wall, but will scale off the surface, or may be brushed off loosely when dry. When any portion of the plaster ground becomes too dry to work upon.