What are Frescoes?
Frescoes are paintings which are executed on plaster. Italy is particularly famous for its frescoes, but the art form can also be found in other cultures as well, particularly in India, Latin America, and Greece, where the relatively dry climate preserves frescoes. Many frescoes are quite ancient, and it may be among the earliest of art forms, especially if one considers cave paintings a form of fresco. After a brief period of reduced interest, frescoes experienced a revival in the mid-20th century, thanks to the work of Latin American mural artists like Diego Rivera and artists who received grants through the Works Progress Administration as part of the New Deal in the United States. There are two basic types of frescoes. Traditional frescoes are executed in wet plaster, which is applied in small sections which can be covered in a day. To make traditional frescoes, artists ground pigments with water and applied them to the plaster, which would suck the pigments in and bind them as it
