29 сен OVERSIZED FRESCOES, PAINTINGS AND PICTURES
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FURNISHING CHOICES
Furnishing a home means carefully choosing the right elements to decorate our spaces. Furniture, textiles and lighting play a primary role, but the walls are also a fundamental part of our living spaces, essential to give a personal touch to the atmosphere in which we live.
For those who are lucky enough to live in a large home, these choices become even more important because the search for balance and elegance depends on the right combination of technology and design.
A wall to ceiling decoration in an elegant private apartment
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In particular, large walls can be personalised with mural decorations created directly on site, or by adding a piece of art that blends perfectly with the setting, without taking up the entire space. Whatever the choice, it is very important to rely on experienced professionals in the field of artistic decoration, because the larger the work, the more technical expertise is required. In this regard, it should be noted that there are many companies in the art market that produce small to medium sized paintings, while only a few artistic laboratories are able to create paintings and images of large dimensions.
A modern artwork from the ArteMariani collection, installed at Villa Adriano in Sochi
An oversized fresco inspired by Tiepolo, installed on the ceiling of a café in Athens
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FRESCO AS A SOLUTION
Mariani Affreschi is able to create works with various painting techniques, of which the fresco is one of the most popular. The “strappo” fresco technique allows transferring a wall painting from the laboratory by mounting it on a canvas and then shipping it to the customer in any location, even abroad. As we already know, fresco painting is a very ancient art form used to decorate very large surfaces. One of the most well-known examples is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. The expertise acquired by Mariani Affreschi over decades of producing and selling art works has allowed it to become a specialist in the execution of large frescoes and paintings.
Two Mariani artists working in the laboratory on a large-scale fresco landscape painting
Execution of an oversized classic fresco painting to be transferred to the ceiling of the customer’s home
A Mariani technician during one of the stages of the fresco painting. Team work is essential when working on large-scale works
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These masters of fresco art and laboratory technicians are unique in the Italian art scene, making it possible to create oversized and imposing “customised” paintings mounted on suitable structures (frames or panels) which can then be placed in the customer’s home.
CRITICAL ASPECTS IN AN OVERSIZED PAINTING
Below are some of the most critical aspects in creating an oversized painting:
– Artistic execution: the painting of large surfaces requires absolute mastery of the painting technique in order to balance out the volumes, colours and proportions. The complexity increases considerably in the production of a fresco painting, because the execution times are very tight (the fresco is painted on fresh plaster, and must be completed before it dries);
– Canvas: it is difficult to find large-sized canvases. It is not an option to use more than one piece of canvas because the joins will remain visible, thus compromising the artistic result. Supplying an artwork on a single canvas requires the use of materials that are not readily available commercially;
– Frame or structure: fixing a large painting on a panel or frame is s very complicated process due to the choice of materials (which must be strong and light at the same time) and the mounting operation;
– Shipment: once the artwork has been completed, the logistics must be planned very carefully. The package must first take into consideration the characteristics of the painting to prevent any damage during transportation. It must be shipped by a trusted courier, coordinating logistics procedures to reduce unforeseen issues with delivery or transport. Finally, the producer must follow special customs procedures in case of exports, since it involves materials that are highly protected in a country of art like Italy.
A carefully packed oversized painting ready to be shipped to the customer
One of the steps that go into creating a large-scale artistic panel for decorating a hotel lobby
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If requested by the customer, or if the surfaces of the walls or ceilings are particularly large and irregular, Mariani Affreschi may send its team of artists directly to the customer’s premises so that the painting can be created directly on site.
In addition to frescoes for decorating homes, lofts and villas, over the years Mariani Affreschi has also produced large-scale artworks for restaurants, hotels, spas and prestigious meeting rooms. The photos below are some of these works, where Italian art adds value to interior design projects of the highest level, both classic and modern.
Large-scale trompe l’oeil painting covering the walls of a prestigious meeting room
An oversized landscape painting mounted on a frame and applied inside a panelled wall
A Mariani fresco adds a unique touch to the relaxation area of the Marisa Borghi Beauty Centre
A frescoed panel covers the entire wall of a modern bathroom, evoking the atmosphere of ancient Rome
Marc Drost
Posted at 15:23h, 12 НоябрьSorry but if you have the oversized large canvas, then how exactly are you going to transfer it to the wall.??
How are you going to make a real fresco out of it??
Since a Fresco means that you paint on a wet chalk whitened wall.
And you have around max 8 hours to finish.
If you paint on a dry wall it should be called a mural. A mural is therefore not a fresco.
So your large canvas against the wall is not a fresco.
Alberto
Posted at 16:17h, 12 НоябрьDear Marc,
thank you for your comment.
We realise either acrylic/oil paintings on canvas (small or big, they can be always glued to the wall as a wallcovering) and authentic fresco paintings, following the ancient technique of “buon fresco”. In this second case (which is the main point of this conversation) the fresco is realised in our workshop on wall and then transferred onto canvas following the so-called “Calicot” technique, also known as “Strappo” technique. This technique allows the operator to remove the fresco-layer from the wall and have it (negative on first canvas and then positive on second one) on a canvas, which can be managed the same as any other canvas (a wallpaper for example). A “strappo” fresco (stripped from the wall) absolutely keep the same chemical characteristics as an authentic fresco (in particular, the carbonatisation of the lime has appened in the wet plaster before the stripping on first canvas, therefore all colours are fixed in the thin layer of plaster that is detachted from the wall and then stick on the canvas).
With both the above mentioned techniques we can reach even big dimensions, around 3 meters height by 5 to 8 meters lenght. When the project requires bigger sizes, for us it’s more convenient to realise the painting on site (either with acrylic or fresco technique, as preferred by the customers).
You can find more information about these technique (“buon fresco” + “Calicot) at the following link https://www.marianiaffreschi.com/fresco-technique/ and of course on any online encyclopedia.
In conclusion, please allow us to specify that an authentic fresco (that must be always painted on wet plaster, of course) doesn’t need to be entirely completed in 8 hours. Of course the artist must paint while the plaster is still wet (so the time depends on many conditions such as: humidity and temperature of the working place, depth and nature of the wall), but if the entire realization (let’s imagine the Sistine Chapel) is too big for approx. one day, then the artist will spread the plaster on the portion of painting for which a day is enought, and of course this is one of the main tasks that make fresco technique to be well executed by an artist.
Please leave here any comment or further query: we would be glad to clarify and explain how we work.
Best regards
Alberto Mariani