The technique of Buon or True Fresco has remained unchanged for millennia.

It is so called because pure pigment and water are applied to wet or fresh lime plaster without the addition of a binder such as egg, casein or oil. Colour is fixed purely by the reabsorption of carbon dioxide from the air as the surface begins to make its set over the space of a day.

Each section is known as a ‘giornata’ or day for this reason.

Once the artist has prepared, scaled up and even rehearsed his daily section, he must work swiftly and decisively, building colour in the crystalline glazes which give buon fresco its uniquely luminous quality.

This ancient way of painting dates back to the bronze age. The beautifully animated Minoan cycles on the Island of Santorini in Crete are some of its most moving examples, and while it largely fell out of favour with the advent of oil towards the end of the 16th century, artists today are beginning to rediscover and appreciate its luminous colour and the mysterious process of carbonation which allows it.

For me it remains a fascinating journey.