Tiré du site Internet http://www.mackbooks.co.uk: "St Francis of Assisi was the saint who humanised sainthood. He was a man with an ordinary body and ordinary desires. As Tacita Dean writes, 'He rolled naked in the snow to quell his urges and trod the land on paths and roads that are still wending their way through the hills and forests of Umbria today ... His concerns are contemporary : his love of the earth is ecology, his care for its creatures, animal welfare, and his understanding of his fellow humanity is modern-day social science. He is the saint whom mankind can realistically aspire to emulate, because his humanness, his humanity lies just within our mortal reach.' In her work, Buon Fresco, 2014, Dean filmed details of Giotto's frescos in the Upper Basilica in Assisi using a macro lens, in order, she said, to have the perspective of the artist himself. Giotto humanised the depiction of people in painting in a parallel way to St Francis's humanising of sainthood, and this moment, when the radical artist depicted the radical saint is an extremely important juncture in the history of art. Frescoes are meant to be seen from a distance, so this book provides a revelatory view of the minutiae and sophistication of Giotto's brushstrokes, which at times anticipates the future canon of mark marking in Western painting."

FRESCO PAINTING Modern Methods and Techniques for Painting in Fresco and Secco by OLLE NORDMARK AMERICAN ARTISTS GROUP, INC. NEW YORK PREFACE This book has been written for the painter in fresco, who wishes to acquire enough knowledge of the craft to enable him to supervise, guide and efficiently work with the craftsmen plasterers who are put in charge of the preparation of his materials and wall and who will assist him as the finishing plasterers throughout the period of painting. It should be remembered that the surface of the so-called Intonaco, must yield the best possible working conditions, giving the painter the longest possible time to execute the part of the wall intended for a days work. In order that such a condition should prevail, a thorough knowledge of the materials used in the practice of fresco painting must be acquired through the practical utilization of a series of operations to obtain necessary ultimate results. Stress is, therefore, laid upon the fact that the painter him self must guide and guard the preparation of his materials and the different layers of mortar which build up the fresco ground, the foundation for the painting. Also, if he is not prepared himself to do the work, he must be able to give final full direc tions for the Intonaco or painting surface, the richness of the mixing and its perfect application which in itself requires experienced handling of tools in the piece-meal plastering of the wall, all of which is the groundwork for the actual painting. This HANDBOOK, therefore, will endeavor to explain the practice of fresco and fresco-secco painting in connection and collaboration with the trade from which it was derived the building trade. OLLENORDMAKK CONTENTS i WALLS 3 ii PREPARATION OF MORTAR MATERIALS 9 in MORTAR MIXING 17 iv PLASTERING THE FRESCO GROUND 22 v FRESCO GROUNDS 32 vi INTONACO 38 vii PRELIMINARY WORK TO PAINTING THE FRESCO . . 43 viii PAINTING THE FRESCO ... 67 ix SECCO PAINTING IN LIMECOLOR 87 x MODELING OF RELIEF IN MORTAR 95 xi RETOUCHING 101 xii PRELIMINARY WORK FOR PLASTERING ..... 108 xiii THE SCAFFOLD 112 SOURCE OF SUPPLIES 115 INDEX - 121 COLOR PLATES FIRST STEPS IN FRESCO PAINTING 80 by OlXE NORDMARK COMPLETED FRESCO PAINTING 81 by OLLE NORDMARK FRESCOS IN POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C 82 by REGINALD MARSH FRESCOS IN POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C 83 by REGINALD MARSH FRESCOS IN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C 84 by HENRY VARNUM POOR FRESCOS IN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C 85 by HENRY VARNUM POOR DETAIL FROM FRESCO IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D, C 86 by GEORGE BIDDLE FRESCO PAINTING WALLS CHAPTER ONE T JL. . H H E QUESTION of a suitable wall for the fresco-mural, or how to make any available area a permanent foundation for the plaster coats making up the fresco ground, has vexed the fresco painter from ancient times to our days. BRICK WALLS Generally it can be said that the old-fashioned brick wall made from handmade bricks is still the ideal wall for the fresco mural. Bricks baked to a fresh looking red and laid in lime-sand mortar constitute that kind of a wall. Old plastered walls must first have the plaster removed. Old as well as new walls are cleaned with a weak solution of HYDROCHLORIC ACID, washed with hot water and then sprayed and rinsed with cold. During the spraying the wall is examined for non-absorbentbricks of a muddy violet or clincer grey color. All such bricks baked and burnt beyond the temperature of the fresh red color must either be insulated by waterproofing or, better still, replaced with good bricks to remove the ever present possibility of EFFLORESCENCE. Waterproofing is done by painting over with an ASPHALT type of WATERPROOFING which will still allow the mortar to cling to the safeguarded brick. Deep hollows and faulty bricks are filled out and repaired with lime-sand mortar, 1-2 mixture with brick chips mixed in

Domenico Ghirlandaio was one of the most popular artists in fifteenth-century Florence. He worked in a variety of media, including panel paintings, wall murals, mosaic, and manuscript illumination, and his workshop - to which Michelangelo was apprenticed - was highly influential. This beautiful book offers a radically new interpretation of Ghirlandaio’s life and work, viewing him primarily as an artisan active within the craft traditions, guild structure, and workshop organizations of his day. Jean K. Cadogan argues that Ghirlandaio was a pivotal figure in the transformation of the artist from medieval artisan to Renaissance genius. She traces his gradual social elevation, which reflected the increasing respect with which he was treated by his patrons. And she notes that the changes in the way he and other artists were viewed created a milieu that encouraged innovation in technique, style, and content, qualities that were vividly displayed in Ghirlandaio’s work. Cadogan explains how his working method, his pragmatic, artisan approach to technique, the organization and functioning of his workshop, and his relations with his patrons affected the works of art Ghirlandaio produced. Her text is complemented by a catalogue raisonné of Ghirlandaio’s works in all media as well as an appendix of documents useful for scholars.

This survey sets state, civic, commercial, church, private and other murals in their historical and cultural contexts. The book covers work by over 400 artists and numerous murals never previously documented or illustrated.