Sgraffito

by Polidoro da Caravaggio and Maturino da Firenze, 1523 creates a sgraffito mural at the Casa de los Picos School of Art and Design, Segovia (Chios) ( ; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of an underlying layer contrasted in colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, and on pottery by applying two successive layers of contrasting slip or glaze to an unfired ceramic body. The Italian past participle is also used for this technique, especially in reference to pottery.

by Polidoro da Caravaggio and Maturino da Firenze, 1523]] creates a sgraffito mural at the Casa de los Picos School of Art and Design, Segovia]] (Chios)]] ( ; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of an underlying layer contrasted in colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, and on pottery by applying two successive layers of contrasting slip or glaze to an unfired ceramic body. The Italian past participle is also used for this technique, especially in reference to pottery. ==Etymology== guesthouse in Kraków]] The term is based on the verb 'to scratch', which probably entered Italian through Lombardic and ultimately traces back to the Greek word 'to write'. The Italian prefix 's-' originates in the Latin prefix 'ex-', and is used in this case to intensify the basic meaning, so that 'to scratch' becomes 'to scratch off'. ==History== Sgraffito on walls has been used in Europe since classical times. It was popularized in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries and can be found in African art. In combination with ornamental decoration, these techniques formed an alternative to the prevailing painting of walls. The technical procedure for sgraffito is relatively simple, resembling the process of painting frescoes. Sgraffito played a significant role during the Italian Renaissance, with two of Raphael's workshops, Polidoro da Caravaggio and his partner Maturino da Firenze, among the leading specialists. They painted palace facades in Rome and other cities; however, most of their work has since weathered. During the 16th century, the technique was brought to Germany by the master builders of the Renaissance and taken up with enthusiasm. As a simple native art, old examples of sgraffito can be found in the wide surroundings of Wetterau and Marburg. In Germany, the technique is most predominant in Bavaria. The use of sgraffito was common in the creation of housing façades for the purposes of advertising. The technique was also used in Thuringia, the Engadin, Austria, and Transylvania. In Catalonia, sgraffito was implemented in the early 20th century by the Noucentista neo-classical architects and became a recurrent technique in façade decoration. Another use of sgraffito is seen in its simplified painting technique. One coat of paint is left to dry on a canvas or sheet of paper. Another coat of a different color is painted on top of the first layer. The artist then uses a palette knife or oil stick to scratch out a design, leaving behind an image in the color of the first coat of paint. This can also be achieved by using oil pastels for the first layer and black ink for the top layer. Sometimes a first coat of paint is not needed, and the wet coat scraped back reveals the canvas. This cannot be achieved by using the oil pastel method. This technique is often used in art classes to teach the sgraffito technique to novice art students. ==Art Nouveau== Examples of graphic work on facades saw a resurgence through 1915, in the context of the rise of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Vienna Secession, and particularly the Art Nouveau movement in Belgium and France. The English artist Heywood Sumner has been identified as this era's pioneer of the technique, for example his work at the 1892 St Mary's Church, Sunbury, Surrey. Sumner's work is sgraffito per se, scratched plaster, but the term has come to encompass a variety of techniques for producing exterior graphic decoration. Other examples include: Ceramic panels on the Grande Maison de Blanc, Brussels, architect Oscar François, artist Henri Privat-Livemont, 1896–1897 The Hôtel Albert Ciamberlani, Brussels, architect Paul Hankar, sgraffito designs by Albert Ciamberlani and executed by , 1897. The Golden House, Charleroi (Belgium), sgraffito designs by Gabriel Van Dievoet 1899. Princess of Dreams tile tympanum and other work, Hotel Metropol, Moscow, architect William Walcot, artist Mikhail Vrubel, 1899–1907 Cauchie House, Brussels, architect Paul Cauchie, 1905 Ceramic Homage to Prague tympanum of the Municipal House in Prague, architect Osvald Polívka, artist Karel Špillar, 1905–1912 ==Gallery== File:9736 - Firenze, Palazzo Nasi - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 27-Oct-2007.jpg|Palazzo Nasi, Florence File:House in Olomouc.jpg|Building in Olomouc File:Mais.Cauchie sgraf. 2e ét.JPG|Cauchie House, Brussels File:Hotel Ciamberlani - sgraffite de l'étage, détail..JPG|Detail of Hôtel Albert Ciamberlani, Brussels File:Charleroi - Maison Dorée 1.JPG|Golden House, sgraffiti by Gabriel van Dievoet, Charleroi, 1899 File:Mödling - Bürgerhaus Rathausgasse 6.JPG|Renaissance façade with sgraffito in Mödling File:Althofen Salzburger Platz 6 Riederhaus West-Ansicht 20082018 4275.jpg|Renaissance façade with sgraffito in Althofen File:Pyrgi house1.JPG|House covered with sgraffito in the village of Pyrgi, Mastichochoria of Chios File:Casa del Gremi de Revenedors . façana esgrafiada 03.JPG|Building in Barcelona File:GuentherZ 2007-04-28 2811 Drosendorf Rathaus.jpg|Town hall of Drosendorf-Zissersdorf File:Jindruchev Hradec - Haus am Markt - Sgraffito - Panorama.jpg|Building in Jindřichův Hradec File:1360 Montgomery Street, exterior, San Francisco (June 2020).jpg|Sgraffito mural on the Malloch Building in San Francisco ==See also== List of art techniques Scagliola Stucco Terrazzo Venetian plaster Scratchboard ==External links== Sgraffito Collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam St. Benet's Chaplaincy at Queen Mary, University of London via Internet Archive

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