Art & Design

Fresco Techniques

Buon fresco, fresco secco, mezzo fresco, sgraffito - which wall-painting method defines the Renaissance masters?

Fresco Techniques — 15 entries in the art & design category, sortable by Technique, Italian Name, Surface State. A clean, structured reference list with the full source data in one place.

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Updated:4/9/2026

#art #fresco #mural #renaissance #techniques

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Technique↕	Italian Name↕	Surface State↕	Durability↕	Famous Example↕	Description↕
True Fresco	Buon fresco	Wet plaster	Centuries, bonded	Sistine Chapel ceiling (1512)	Pigment in water applied to freshly laid wet lime plaster, bonding as it cures
Dry Fresco	Fresco secco	Dry plaster	Less durable, can flake	The Last Supper by Leonardo (1498)	Pigment bound in medium painted onto dry plaster, faster but less permanent
Half Fresco	Mezzo fresco	Semi-dry plaster	Moderate	Raphael Vatican Stanze (1511)	Painted on plaster still damp but no longer fully wet, popular in late Renaissance
Scratched Plaster	Sgraffito	Layered wet plaster	Very durable	Prague Schwarzenberg Palace	Dark layer beneath light top layer, scratched through to reveal design contrast
Pounce Transfer	Spolvero	Wet plaster surface	Durable if buon fresco	Michelangelo preparatory work	Full-size cartoon pricked with pins, charcoal pounced through dots onto wet plaster
Incised Cartoon	Calco	Wet plaster	Durable	Renaissance workshops	Stylus pressed through cartoon leaving incised lines in wet plaster as guide
A Giornata	A giornata	Daily sections	Durable if buon	Giotto Scrovegni Chapel (1305)	Work divided into day-sized patches of fresh plaster to be finished before drying
Sinopia Underdrawing	Sinopia	Arriccio layer	Hidden beneath fresco	Pisa Camposanto cycles	Red earth underdrawing on rough plaster layer under the final intonaco
Arriccio Prep	Arriccio	Rough plaster base	Structural layer	All traditional frescoes	Coarse initial plaster layer that supports the smooth final painting surface
Intonaco Final Coat	Intonaco	Smooth wet lime	Bonds with pigment	All buon fresco	Final smooth lime-sand layer that painter applies pigment to while still wet
Encausto Combined	Encausto	Wax over fresco	Waxy finish	Pompeii wall paintings	Hot wax finish applied over fresco for sheen and protection, sometimes buffed
Lime Wash Painting	Latte di calce	Slaked lime base	Moderate	Mexican muralists	Pigment mixed with lime wash applied in sequential layers to build color
Fresco on Canvas	Fresco trasportato	Transferred	Preserved	Restored Pompeian frescoes	Original fresco detached from wall and mounted on canvas for preservation
Affresco Stacco	Stacco a massello	Removed with plaster	Heavy but stable	Masaccio restoration	Fresco removed with its full plaster layer intact for conservation transport
Strappo Transfer	Strappo	Surface only peeled	Thin and fragile	Renaissance restorations	Only painted skin of fresco peeled off wall using glued cloth then remounted

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Fresco Techniques

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