ARTT 034C. Painting III: Fresco Painting

This course offers an introduction to the materials, methods, and chemistry of buon fresco: the ancient craft of wall-painting with earth and mineral pigments onto freshly applied lime plaster. Working from recipes and instructions gleaned from artists’ accounts and painting manuals, students will gain hands-on experience with every step of the fresco painting process: we will grind earth and mineral pigments, mix and apply lime plasters, and paint with pigment suspensions using bristle brushes. While each student will be invited to explore fresco-painting independently on portable wooden panels, this course will also emphasize the collaborative and site-responsive nature of fresco painting through the planning and development of a large-scale co-authored buon fresco mural that will be painted on a prepared wall in Old Tarble. Occasional lectures will provide an historic overview of fresco painting and its uses across cultures. Considering a wall-painting as a part of a dynamic whole that includes an architectural substrate and a geographic environment, we will look at varied examples of site-bound wallworks, and will discuss their connection and vulnerability to social, infrastructural, and climatic conditions.
Prerequisite: Painting I or II or permission of the instructor.
Arts and Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Capanna.
Fall 2024. Capanna.
Fall 2025. Capanna.
Catalog chapter: Art
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art

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