fresco
(Italian: fresh)
Painting in water-color on a freshly laid wet surface of absorbent plaster. In true fresco (buon fresco), the earth pigments are mixed with water of hydrate of lime on a wet surface; in dry fresco (fresco secco), the dry surface is wetted with water only just before touching. Real frescoes adorned the walls of prehistoric caves, the palaces of Mycenre and Tiryns (1500 B.C.), and were used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and early Christians in the catacombs . Fresco painting was revived again in the 12th and 13th centuries under Giotto, Cimabue, Orcagna, and later by Michelangelo, Pinturicchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Guido Reni, and the modern Puvis de Chavannes.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Fresco
or wall-painting in water-colors, was very common in the early ages of the Christian mera, and was gradually introduced into sacred places, especially churches and the catacombs, portions of it still remaining. The subjects are usually Scriptural, though sometimes purely ideal. (See illustration on page 417.) For the details see Smith, Dict. of Christ. Antiq. s.v. SEE PAINTING.