What better way to bring the work of the Renaissance masters to life than to try their painting style ourselves? Fresco, (or "fresh" in Italian), is the art of painting with water-based pigments onto freshly applied plaster.
After studying famous frescoes like Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, we broke out some plaster and tried painting it wet, which we discovered is actually quite difficult! One of the many arts to this style must have been getting the plaster consistency just right -- and we learned, while working, how important it is for an artist to be familiar with the qualities of their chosen medium and how best to use it.
Just like the masters, we started with a sketch of our plan, then transferred the outlines to our plaster and painted quickly. Our results? We may need a few years studying with a master artist, as our Renaissance painters did, to become really accomplished at this style; but overall, we had a lot of fun with the process and the paintings were all very charming!
More on frescoes here:
https://www.britannica.com/art/fresco-painting
and take a 3D tour of the Sistine Chapel, as we did in class, here:
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/index_sistina_en.htm
and take a 3D tour of the Sistine Chapel, as we did in class, here:
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/index_sistina_en.htm
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