Country Life
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April 2, 2021 Cara Campbell hand-painted the walls for Harrock Hall, Lancashire, by Miss Campbell, as well as making the mirror above the fireplace. Credit: Cara Campbell
Once practised by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci, the art of fresco creation has changed little in 1,000 years. Marsha O’Mahony meets the artists following in their footsteps.
At the unveiling of the Sistine Chapel’s most famous fresco in 1508, Pope Julius II, who commissioned the work, was rendered speechless. More than 500 years later, Michelangelo’s cornerstone of the High Renaissance continues to inspire awe and wonder. Fresco artists of the 21st century are walking in the footsteps of such masters, creating the illusion of space and time through luminosity of colour and the telling of stories. It remains a potent, if not exclusive, force in art.