586 On the At't of Painting 



Their immoveable paintings upon walls, ceil- 

 ino-s, &c. were either in frefque, or upon the dry 

 ftucco in diftemper. Indeed all the ancient 

 paintings may be reduced to, firji^ frefque paint- 

 ing (udo illini, udo te5lorio pingere) : Jecondly^ wa- 

 ter colour or diftemper painting on a dry 

 ground i^ftcco te^lorio pingere) : and, thirdly, en- 

 cauftic painting (ceris pingere — pi^uram inurere). 



The ancient frefque paintings appear to have 

 been always on a white ftucco ground,* the 

 colours inlaid very deep, and the drawing much 

 more bold and free than any fimilar performance 

 of modern art ; and indeed apparently managed 

 in a different way. The modern method is, 

 having prepared as much of the ftucco ground 

 as will ferve for one day's operation, the defign 

 on paper is applied to the wet ftucco, and traced 

 with pin holes j the paper is then rubbed over 

 with charcoal duft, which pafting through the 

 pin holes, leaves the outline traced M'^on xht Jluc- 

 coedwall: this is afterwards cut in with a tool. 



The outline of the ancient paintings on frefque .^ 

 however, were probably done at once, as appears 

 from thexlepih of the incifion, and the boldnefs 

 and freedom of the defign equal to the eafe and 

 fpirit of a pencilled outline j and from their 

 exhibiting no marks of the modern method of 



f What the Italians now term Intonacatura. 



frefque 



