Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/175

 1868.] Fresco-Painting. 14" would not drop away — could have little more effect upon the picture than the daily joints in the plaster. Practically, however, as the larger work upon ceil- ings and domes must be far removed from the eye, we could well pardon the necessary concomitant defect, for the sake of the great and grand conceptions of the master painter, who himself — as great cartoons of this style demand great space — would find it impossible to squeeze them into the narrow bounds of a mere medallion panel. Eut great pic- tures of this kind will always be few, because they are enormously expensive. The second mode, also mainly prac- tised upon ceilings, is : To use water- colors mixed with, what is technically called, by the artists of this branch, "fresco," the ingredients and propor- tions of whose composition, though mainly the same, vary with each prac- titioner, and whose principles are kept secret by the members of the profession, upon dry sized plaster, with the surface of which it thoroughly incorporates, so that the picture must last while the sur- face endures. This is the present preva- lent method, safe, easy, expeditious and comparatively inexpensive. As the pic- ture cannot however be washed with impunit}'- it will hardly answer to paint it upon the walls of an edifice, much less upon those of a dwelling It will not, however, disappear, or blur, with dry rubbing, so that household dusting, for the sake of cleanliness, is perfectly safe. This brings us to the third mode : Paint- ing in oil-colors, upon plaster properly prepared. The effects, derived from this third method, never begin to equal those produced by the second, much less those obtained through the first — the true brilliancy of the colors being sacrificed for the vehicle ; but the picture with- stands most evil influences, as long as the plaster remains unbroken ; and, what is of great importance to the house- keeper, the work can be washed, after once fairly setting, with water and soap. In practice, then, water-fresco is the style for ceilings, and oil-fresco that for walls. Fresco-painting, as a means of embel- lishing churches and public buildiugs, has been known to the American public for many years ; but its application for the purpose of decorating private dwell- ings is of veiy recent date. The ad- vantages of this over the former method of adornment, by means of tapestry and wall-paper, are almost too numerous to mention in this short article. We will call attention to a few of the most im- portant. 1st. Unlike wall-paper, it is perfectly healthy, not being subject to chemical reaction. 2d. It is perfectly free from smell in wet or clamp weather. 3d. It is not liable to change color, by exposure to either light or darkness ; and heat and cold will not in the least affect it. 4th. It can be washed, without being in any way exposed to injury. 5th. Houses decorated in this man- ner are invariably free from those pes- tiferous insects, that perpetually infest dwellings covered with wall paper. 6th. Individuals have it in their power to suggest, or control, the designs and style of execution, thus making an origi- nal range of ornamentation possible for every house. Much more might be said in reference to its durability and consequent cheap- ness ; and its natural tendency to pre- serve the walls in their original beauty of surface, a fact of which the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneuin, and the re- mains of many other places, furnish the most ample proof. Indeed, some of our own churches and other public build- ings, many of which were decorated in fresco more than thirty years ago, and whose walls yet stand, in all their origi- nal freshness, will demonstrate clearly, to every thinking mind, the great supe- riority of fresco-painting over all other methods of decoration, in houses of every description.