The Villa dei Misteri, Pompeii. Raphael’s Villa Farnesina. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. All are iconic classical and renaissance examples of decorative art closely allied to architecture. The enduring vibrancy of these masterful works of antiquity is attributable in no small measure to the nature of their shared medium: the buon fresco.
True frescoes are the result of painting mineral or oxide pigments into a still moist or “fresh” lime surface. The pigments penetrate into the lime and become integral to the coating as it dries and cures. Protected from the elements, a buon fresco can last indefinitely.