Preamble
This is the thirty-third post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Durable press and wash-and-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
There is a lack of modern scientific and technical studies directly related to artists' materials; much carefully controlled research remains to be done to bring our data on fresco colors up to date.
The fresco palette is more restricted than any of the others; the pigments must not only be absolutely light proof, but must resist the alkaline action of lime plaster and the acid action in the polluted air. Pigments must be free from soluble salts and any impurities that are likely to react with acids or alkalis. When selecting pigments, attention should be given to the brilliance and purity of tone in the dry state, which is approximately, if not exactly, the same as the finished fresco effect.
Egyptian Mural Palette.
(i) Black.
Carbon Lampblack (see below).
(ii) Blue.
Azurite (see below) and Egyptian Blue Frit.
(iii) Brown.
Various Native Earths.
(iv) Green.
Malachite (see below) and Crysocolla.
(v) Red.
(vi) White.
Chalk (see below) and Gypsum.
(vii) Yellow.
Ochre and native orpiment (see below).
Minoan Fresco Palette.
(i) White.
Lime Putty (see below).
(ii) Black.
Powdered Slate (see below).
(iii) Red.
Native Red Oxide (see below).
(iv) Blue.
Egyptian Blue Frit Balls (see below).
(v) Bluish Green.
The Bull Leapers fresco (see below).
(vi) Yellow.
Fresco depicting three women: This fresco from the complex at Knossos depicts a popular fashion for Minoan women.
Note: The yellow lapels.
Roman Fresco Palette.
(i) Black.
Lampblack and bone black (see below).
(ii) Blue.
Egyptian Blue (possibly in copper ores).
(iii) Brown.
(iv) Aqua.
(v) Lime Green.
(vi) Egyptian Yellow.
(vii) Red.
Native oxides and Pozzuoli Red (see below), etc.
Note: Probably refined, washed, and burnt earths were used. The method of making Egyptian blue and green was brought from Egypt to Pozzuoli.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
This is the thirty-third post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Durable press and wash-and-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
There is a lack of modern scientific and technical studies directly related to artists' materials; much carefully controlled research remains to be done to bring our data on fresco colors up to date.
The fresco palette is more restricted than any of the others; the pigments must not only be absolutely light proof, but must resist the alkaline action of lime plaster and the acid action in the polluted air. Pigments must be free from soluble salts and any impurities that are likely to react with acids or alkalis. When selecting pigments, attention should be given to the brilliance and purity of tone in the dry state, which is approximately, if not exactly, the same as the finished fresco effect.
Egyptian Mural Palette.
(i) Black.
Carbon Lampblack (see below).
(ii) Blue.
Azurite (see below) and Egyptian Blue Frit.
(iii) Brown.
Various Native Earths.
(iv) Green.
Malachite (see below) and Crysocolla.
(v) Red.
(vi) White.
Chalk (see below) and Gypsum.
(vii) Yellow.
Ochre and native orpiment (see below).
Minoan Fresco Palette.
(i) White.
Lime Putty (see below).
(ii) Black.
Powdered Slate (see below).
(iii) Red.
Native Red Oxide (see below).
(iv) Blue.
Egyptian Blue Frit Balls (see below).
(v) Bluish Green.
The Bull Leapers fresco (see below).
(vi) Yellow.
Note: The yellow lapels.
Roman Fresco Palette.
(i) Black.
Lampblack and bone black (see below).
(ii) Blue.
Egyptian Blue (possibly in copper ores).
(iii) Brown.
(iv) Aqua.
(v) Lime Green.
(vi) Egyptian Yellow.
(vii) Red.
Native oxides and Pozzuoli Red (see below), etc.
Note: Probably refined, washed, and burnt earths were used. The method of making Egyptian blue and green was brought from Egypt to Pozzuoli.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
