fresco
n. C / Un. a painting made on a wall or ceiling while the plaster is still wet. This method makes the paint part of the wall so the colors last a very long time.
n. a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, moist lime plaster. The pigments are absorbed into the wall surface as it dries, resulting in a durable and integral decorative layer.
The artist spent months painting a beautiful fresco on the church ceiling.
Restorers worked carefully to clean the Renaissance fresco without damaging the delicate layers of ancient plaster.
The vibrant colors of the fresco remain remarkably preserved because the chemical bond formed between the pigment and the wet lime creates a surface resistant to fading over centuries.
From Italian fresco, from Vulgar Latin friscum, from Proto-Germanic friskaz. Doublet of fresh and frisk.
Countable when referring to a specific artwork; uncountable when referring to the technique itself.