Historical.-- The origin of mural painting on plaster reaches back into very primitive times. Without being hypercritical as to the exact processes used by the ancients, we know, from the excavations by Dr. Schliemann of the pre-Hellenic palaces of Mycenz and Tiryns (1500 ac), that the plastered walls and ceilings were decorated in colors. The ancient Egyp tian tombs and mummy-cases were decorated with painting on stucco white ground us tempera (distemper). The Greeks would ap pear to have used the fresco process in the period of their prime, although it would seem that their most noted painter, Polygnotos, worked in tempera technique. But nothing is extant to afford visual proof. From the Roman period, however, we have fine examples of mural decoration in the ruins of Pompeii, Her culaneum, Stabia, Boscoreale, etc. Besides, Pliny and Vitruvius have left us descriptions of the Greco-Roman technique. Next we come to the fresco painting of the primitive Chris tians in the Catacombs of Rome and Naples. Then the art appears to have declined and we learn of only isolated examples till we come to the 13th and 14th centuries, when the proc ess again began to flourish. And the art on greatly advanced and talented execution in the persons of Cimabue, Giotto and other Italian artists. From Florence the pupils of these masters soon spread a knowledge and practice of the art of fresco painting through out all Italy, some examples of which we will enumerate later. Mural decoration in fresco next became popular in Germany in this period and we find examples in Brunswick Cathedral, in Saint Gereon's, Saint Ursula and Saint Hum bert's churches at Cologne. We find them nu merous in the cloisters and castles; the of Death" (Todtentanz) is a favored subject. Even the facades of the buildings displayed fresco decorations (mostly allegorical and his torical subjects). But with the 15th century we are in the Renaissance, resplendent with fresco paintings done for the church, royalty and the prinobles. Wonderful genius in fresco by Masaccio, Fra Ghirlandajo and others. And their successes brought forth the enthusiasm of the 16th cen tury that produced the schools of Florence, Milan and Rome, and created the highest work and most flourishing period in fresco paintisig. To this period belong the greatest of fresco painters: Perugino, del Sarto, Pinturicchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Luini, Correggio, Raphael, Michelangelo, etc., all great masters in this art. But too soon after the zenith of the fresco painting art followed the decadence with its baroque period of rapid execution running to fantastic perspectives and tours de force. Standing boldly out from such extravagances we have, however, such names as Annibale Carracci with his superlative work in the gallery of the Farnese Palace and Guido Reni has left us fine frescoes in the 'Dawn' or 'Aurora' on the ceiling of the Rospigliosi Villa and others, at Rome. Domenichino did fine fresco painting at Piacenza, Bologna and Rome (Villa Ludovici); Lanfranco achieved success in examples in Rome and Naples. South Germany produced its 16th century fresco painters; Holbein worked in Basle and London; his frescoes are, however, lost, the oils alone remaining. We must remember that Catholic churches, in this period, did little decorating on their walls. With the increas ing popularity in stained glass windows for ecclesiastical buildings, the colored light rays seriously interfered with polychrome effects in mural decoration. Little of importance was
brought forth by the 18th century; Tiepolo did some decorating in Wiirzburg and some Ty rolese, as well as Italians, practised the art on minor works. In the 19th century Germany made an effort to revive the almost forgotten art and started an artists' colony in Rome. Clever workers resulted but their gaudy colors compare ill with the mellow tones of the old masterpieces. We have works in Munich by Cornelius, the Berlin Museum has decorations by Kaulbach. There were Veit and Schadow (seven pictures of 'History of Joseph' in the Berlin National Gallery), etc. Ludwig I of Bavaria, as art patron, aided by the guidance of Cornelius, had what are termed the best recent fresco decoration done in the Munich Glyptothek; Schnorr's 'Nibelungen> salon in the Imperial Palace is another noteworthy work.
Noted
Giotto's (1276-1336) (Birth of the Virgin,' etc., are in the Bardi Chapel, his
Gruner, L.,