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Roman Fresco
Roman Fresco
Fresco, or water-color, on
fresh plaster, was used for coloring walls, which were
divided into compartments or panels. The composition of the
stucco, and the method of preparing the walls for painting,
is described by the ancient writers: "They first covered the
walls with a layer of ordinary plaster, over which, when
dry, were successively added three other layers of a finer
quality, mixed with sand. Above these were placed three
layers of a composition of chalk and marble-dust, the upper
one being laid on before the under one was dry; by which
process the different layers were so bound together that the
whole mass formed one beautiful and solid slab, resembling
marble, and was capable of being detached from the wall and
transported in a wooden frame to any distance. The colors
were applied when the composition was still wet. The fresco
wall, when painted, was covered with an encaustic varnish,
both to heighten the color and to preserve it from the
effects of the sun or the weather; but this process required
so much care, and was attended with so much expense, that it
was used only in the better houses and palaces."
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