The term “mural decoration” applies to the decoration of walls and
ceilings. These decorations may be done in fresco, oils, sculpture in
low relief, mosaics, carved and paneled woodwork, or tapestries. In
fresco painting a damp plaster ground is prepared on the wall, upon
which the moist colors are painted. These colors become fixed as they
dry, and appear to be a part of the wall. The work must be done while
the plaster is damp, so the painter prepares only that part of the wall
which he expects to cover that day. As it cannot be used after it is
dry, he must scrape away all that is left and prepare a new background
the next day. If the artist wishes to change any part of his picture, he
must scrape off the ground and repaint the entire picture. It is often
easy to see where the new plaster has been added, and hence how much the
artist did in one day.
The damp atmosphere in northern countries soon destroys fresco paints,
while the warm, sunny climate of such countries as Italy and Spain
preserves them. Most of the fresco paintings of such old masters as Fra
Angelico, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo are still to be
seen in much of their original beauty.
In America, fresco is seldom used, as artists find that oil paints on
canvas, which may be fastened to the wall with white lead, are much more
lasting and satisfactory.
Some of the best-known mural paintings in the United States are found in
the Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts: “The Holy Grail,” by
Edwin Abbey (American); “The Frieze of the Prophets,” by John Sargent
(American); and “The Muses Welcoming the Genius of Enlightenment,” by
Chavannes (French). In the Congressional Library, Washington, D.C., the
artists represented are: Elihu Vedder (American), J. W. Alexander
(American), H. O. Walker (American), Charles Sprague Pearce (American),
Edward Simmons (American), G. W. Maynard (American), and Frederick
Dielman (American by adoption). In the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York
City, E. H. Blashfield (American) and Edward Simmons are represented. At
the Carnegie Institute the work of John W. Alexander is represented, and
at the Walker Art Building, Bowdoin College, Maine, we find works by
Cox, Thayer, Vedder, and La Farge.
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