What is the term for a painting created on wet plaster?

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What is the term for a painting created on wet plaster? The term is fresco. In the traditional buon fresco process, artists apply water-based pigment to a thin layer of freshly spread lime plaster called intonaco.

As the plaster dries, a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide converts the lime back into calcium carbonate. The pigment becomes integrated with the wall rather than sitting on top of it, helping well-made frescoes survive for centuries. Because the plaster dries quickly, artists typically work in manageable sections known as giornate, or “days’ work.”

Fresco is strongly associated with Italian Renaissance art, including major works by Giotto, Masaccio, and Raphael. A frequent mix-up is treating every wall painting as a fresco. In fresco-secco, or a secco, artists paint on dry plaster, often using a binder; this method permits later corrections but is generally less durable. “Mural” is the broader term for wall painting, not a precise description of the wet-plaster technique.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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