Intonaco is the Italian word for plaster.
Fresco is any of several related painting types, done on plaster.
Fresco secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a binding medium such as oil to attach the pigment to the plaster. The three key advantages of work done entirely a secco were that it was quicker, mistakes could be corrected, and the colors varied less from when applied to when fully dry, in wet fresco there was a considerable color change.
Gilding is the ancient art of applying a thin layer of gold, simulated gold, or other metal to a surface. Products employed are 23 karat patent gold leaf.
Patent gold leaf, also referred to transfer gold leaf, is gold leaf mounted on a special tissue paper by a pressure process. A book of patent gold leaf is assembled by placing each unit of gold leaf between sheets of thin rouged paper. The gilder can then remove one leaf at a time without disturbing the remaining leaves.
Secco is the Italian word for dry
Stucco Veneziano (see Venetian plaster)
Venetian plaster is a relatively modern term used to describe an ancient stuccoed surface coating that dates back more than a thousand years. The art of using this building material was re-discovered in the 1500s, by Andrea Palladio, an architect from Italy, who re-decorated the great villas of Venice by, what this plaster is known locally as, Stucco Veneziano. The recipe for true Venetian plaster is based on a mix of aged slaked lime, ground marble dust, and pigment. My mix is based largely this tradition with 50% world famous Carrara marble with naturally occurring, environmentally safe, non-toxic pigments from Provence, France. I use no synthetic pigments, polymers or pigment binders as are found in commercial mixes.
