fresco

[fres-koh] /ˈfrɛs koʊ/

noun, plural frescoes, frescos.

Also called buon fresco, true fresco. the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture.

Compare fresco secco.

a picture or design so painted.

verb (used with object), frescoed, frescoing.

to paint in fresco.

Origin

1590-1600; < Italian: cool, fresh (< Gmc)

Related forms

frescoer, frescoist, noun

Examples from the web for frescoes

They are portable, for one thing, as frescoes and wall paintings on a similar scale are not.
Some of the furniture even matches and the indoor spaces are covered with lively frescoes.
Up a seemingly endless winding staircase is a room whose frescoes are alive with symbolism.
Among the gems here are medieval manuscripts and stunning frescoes.
Linen has been primed to receive tempera and oil, and a technique has been devised to create portable frescoes.
More specifically, aside from a few frescoes, he spent his whole life perfecting his skill as a painter in oil.
You'll find an extensive collection of modern art along with priceless frescoes, antiques, brocades and silks.
Original frescoes, authentic tiles and stone sculptures with literature and art themes mix with modern interior design.
Especially earthy are the surviving frescoes in the ancient brothel.
Throughout the property guests can admire original frescoes, hand-made ceramics and antique furniture.

British Dictionary definitions for frescoes

fresco

/ˈfrɛskəʊ/

noun (pl) -coes, -cos

a very durable method of wall-painting using watercolours on wet plaster or, less properly, dry plaster (fresco secco), with a less durable result

a painting done in this way

Word Origin

C16: from Italian: fresh plaster, coolness, from fresco (adj) fresh, cool, of Germanic origin

Word Origin and History for frescoes

fresco

1590s, in fresco, literally "in fresh," with a sense of "painted on fresh mortar or plaster," from Italian fresco "cool, fresh," from Proto-Germanic *friskaz (see fresh (adj.1)).

frescoes in Culture

fresco definition

A painting on wet plaster. When the plaster dries, the painting is bonded to the wall. Fresco was a popular method for painting large murals during the Renaissance. The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, is a fresco, as are the paintings by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.