How to identify fresco paintings?
– Fresco is an ancient painting technique always found on walls.
– The finish has a matte (dull) appearance and the colors are opaque.
– Fresco mural paintings are very durable and some of them date back to thousands of years ago, from the ancient times of Pompeii and Crete.
– The fresco technique (means “fresh” in Italian) involves the application of pigments directly to wet plaster on the wall. Then the wall would absorb the mix.
– Fresco on wet plaster could be called buon fresco. Applying the pigments on dry walls was less popular and durable. It’s called fresco secco.
– A major challenge with fresco was that artists had to quickly finish their work before the wet plaster dries.
Great examples of fresco paintings
Byzantine Frescoes in Asinou Church, Nikitari, Cyprus, dated 1106 CE
The Adoration of the Magi by Giotto, 1304-1306
Holy Trinity by Masaccio, 1427-1428
Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo, 1508-1512
The School of Athens by Rapahel, 1509-1510
More great examples of fresco paintings
How to identify tempera paintings?
– The tempera method involves blending pigments with egg yolk.
– Artists painted in this technique on wooden panels, making paintings easily portable.
– The finish tends to be matte (dull) with semi-opaque colors.
Great examples of tempera paintings
Madonna and Child by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1300
Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, 1333
The Trinity by Andrei Rublev, 1425-27
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, 1484-1486
More great examples of tempera paintings
How to identify oil paintings?
– Oil paints produced a great variety of colors which allowed for a much higher level of detail in depicting humans, landscape, architecture, etc.
– Oil dries slowly giving artists a great advantage by making it possible to modify their paintings if necessary.
– Like tempera, oil painting was applied on wooden surfaces but also on linen canvases.
– The finish is clear and translucent because oil gives a glossy, transparent appearance.
Great examples of oil paintings
The Mona Lisa or La Gioconda by Leonardo da Vinci, 1503-5
The Night Watch by Rembrandt, 1642
Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Édouard Manet, 1882
Starry Night by Van Gogh, 1889
More great examples of oil paintings