Frescoes By Bogdanoff

I’ve been asked throughout my career to explain my fresco secco technique. I’ve taught on the subject, which is most effective when doing live demonstrations. Since I can’t technically do that with a blog post, I decided that a “virtual” classroom is the next best thing.

I’ve got two demonstrations to show you today, and I hope this helps anyone who wants to experiment with painting on a plaster canvas.

My first demonstration documents a step-by-step process that I use when I am commissioned to create a fresco that has very specific dimensions. For this exercise, I’m using still images and text.

The Commission Process: A Residential Project

For this project, the client requested a fresco to fit in an arched niche in her home. She required that it follow the shape of the arch.

From the measurements she gave me, I created the shape on my computer using Photoshop (Fig. 1).

(Fig. 1)

Because the home was in California’s wine country, the client wanted the subject matter to reflect her environment, and to capture a historic aspect. She came upon a fresco that I created several years earlier, which depicted Bacchus, the God of Wine, eying Flora, the Goddess of Flowers, in an Italian countryside setting (Fig. 2), and she wanted to use it as the basis for her fresco.

(Fig. 2)

I re-sized the image to fit into the arch using photo manipulation techniques in Photoshop (Fig. 3).

(Fig. 3)

I requested a swatch of the paint color of her arch from the manufacturer, and I applied the color to my arch image via scanner and Photoshop (Fig. 4).

(Fig. 4)

I curved out the top of the image to follow the curve of the arch (Fig. 5).

This was the final rendering, which the client approved. Up to this point all of my work was performed on computer. Also, all imagery was e-mailed to the client for input and any modifications.

I sent her, via FedEx, a hard copy of this image, so she knew what to expect without relying on her computer monitor, which can look very different due to monitor calibration issues.

At this stage, my client and I both had a document to work with, to assure that no surprises would arise later.

With all the computer work completed, it was time for me to take paintbrush in hand. I proceeded to create the actual fresco. This is similar to actually created a painting on canvas, except I am painting on plaster, lime and gypsum. My initial layers absorb into the plaster to become one with my canvas. I continue to apply thin layers to prevent the paint from tearing during the upcoming “vandalizing” process. Painting on plaster takes much longer than painting on canvas due to the application of the thin layers of paint.

(Fig. 5)

The completed painting (Fig. 6) is approved by the client before I move on to the next step (Notice that the colors are brighter than the computer image in Fig. 5. This is because I have not yet “aged” the painting.

(Fig. 6)

Now it’s time for me to “vandalize” or “age” my work. I start by breaking up the canvas into large pieces, so I can get an initial feel for how the paint and plaster will cooperate for me (Fig. 7). The number of layers painted onto and into the plaster has an effect on how it will perform for me during this process, so I have to develop a rhythm with each fresco. In this example, there were more than usual layers due to so much detail in the painting.

(Fig. 7)

I then continue the process through breaking and chiseling the work [Fig. 8]. The breaks are not planned, but I do work out the shape and composition during this process so I will know when it’s time to stop.

Towards the end of this phase, I arrange the pieces back together on the ground to see where I need to make adjustments. Taking an inch away from just one piece can make all the difference in the look and feel of authenticity of the work.

Once I complete this step, I create a hardboard template that will become the backing for the fresco. I custom this backing to follow all of the curves of the outer pieces of the fresco, to give it maximum strength.

(Fig. 8)

I pile all of the pieces in my studio while I prepare my backing (Fig. 9).

I will re-assemble these pieces, which feel like thick tiles, onto my backing, much like one would put a jigsaw puzzle together. I use cement to secure the pieces.

(Fig. 9)

Once the pieces are cemented to the backing and cured, I work towards completion of the fresco through sanding, staining and sealing. More chiseling will most likely take place prior to the final sealing application. The finished fresco (Fig. 10) is now ready for final client approval.

(Note: I install heavy-duty hanging hardware on the back so the fresco is ready to hang).

(Fig. 10)

With the client’s final approval secure, the work is ready to be prepped for shipping.

The fresco is a painting, as well as a sculpture. I add spacers which bring the fresco out away from the wall approx. 1.25 inches. This enhances the fresco’s three-dimensional quality, and allows beautiful shadows to cast on the wall from all of the irregular edges of the fresco (Fig. 11).

(Fig. 11)

Compare the final fresco that is hanging in my client’s home (Fig. 12) with the computer-generated image in Fig. 5, and it is difficult to find any differences. The final dimensions at the furthest points for this fresco are 42.5×53″.

(Fig. 12)

Video Demo
My next demonstration is through a 7:17 minute video. My videographer filmed me throughout the process of creating the fresco entitled “Edith Bouvier Beale circa 1946.” The finished fresco measured 48×46″ and weighed approximately 60 pounds. This video also includes a brief background of my giclée print work.

Questions
Feel free to contact me with any questions. Have fun!

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“Happy he who has passed his whole life mid his own fields, he of whose birth and old age the same house is witness…For him the recurring seasons, not the consuls, mark the year; he knows autumn by his fruits and spring by her flowers.”
–Claudian, Carmina Minora (XX)

“It was not a nuthouse!”
–Neely O’Hara

Claudian, the Greek-speaking Roman poet who made Rome his home before 395 AD, speaks of fruits in the above poem. Neely O’Hara, the Valley of the Dolls alcoholic and drug addict who was drummed right out of Hollywood and came crawlin’ back to Broadway, and who failed at her attempt at a comeback, is referring to her stint at a sanitarium when she mentions the ‘nuthouse.’

Both Claudian and Neely reference fruits and nuts in their statements. Attributed to Romulus, the first ruler of Rome, the Roman calendar (c. 700 BC) originally was determined by the seasons of the cycles of the moon and the seasons of the agricultural year. Fruits, nuts, vegetables and herbs played a tremendous role in the lives of the Romans, thus their calendar was modeled around planting and harvesting.

Beginning in March, in the spring, and ending in December with the autumn planting, the year then was 10 months long (304 days) and had six months with 30 days and four with 31. (Ten successive lunar months actually would have been about 295 days and, because each began and ended with the new moon, that day would have belonged both to the new month and the old— and must have been counted twice.)

Just like Neely needed her grain alcohol to sustain her addiction, the Romans depended on grains to sustain their existence. Grains, like the other agricultural products, needed to be planned out through the Roman calendar year in order to survive the seasons. This explains why the winter months, when there was no work in the field, were not counted.

Broadway, however, offered plenty of work in the field of the theatre. Visitors to the Big Apple (note reference to fruit) enjoy seeing shows during this pretty time of year, with 42nd Street and the surrounding avenues blanketed with snow.

Helen Lawson, a famous Broadway star who has a vicious temperament, is seen here singing “I’ll Plant My Own Tree.” Planting for the Romans began in March (Martus). During the month, calendar festivals included the day honoring New Year’s Day according to the pre-Julian calendar, the Women’s festival of Matronalia, and the gods of one’s household (the 1st); Day sacred to Hercules (the 11th); and, the Festival of Bacchus (the 16th).

Bacchus was the Roman god of wine and debauchery. The Festival of Bacchus ended on the 17th, so there were two days of drinking.

As with all wine festivals, it’s important to pace yourself so you don’t get alcohol bloat.

Detail from my fresco entitled "Bacchus and Flora"

Festivals in April (Aprilis) included the Festival of Fortuna Virilis (the 1st), Birthday of Cybele (the 10th) and the Festival of Jupiter and Juno. May (Maius) brought the Women’s Festival of Bona Dia (the 1st), Festival of Mars Invictus (the 14th), Festival for Dea Dia (the 17th), and the Feast of Mars (the 29th). In June (Junonius) the Roman celebrations included the Day sacred to Tempestas (the 1st), Women’s festival of Vestalia (the 15th), Festival for Anna (the 18th), and Festival for Minerva. From January 1st through the end of June, the total number of festivals and celebrations on the Roman calendar were 152.

By July (Julius), you would think that the Romans would be all partied out. But, like Neely, there’s never enough to fuel the flames of a continuous buzz. From the beginning of July through the end of December, the Romans were able to fit in another 125 festivals and celebrations, which brought the annual total to 277.

With all that partying going on, fights were bound to break out.

The Early Roman army, which was formed c. 300 BC, kept order through c. 641 AD The Roman army is a generic term for the armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome (to c. 500 BC), the Roman Republic (500-31 BC), the Roman Empire (31 BC – 476 AD) and its successor, the Byzantine empire (476-1453 AD). It is thus a term that spans approximately 2,000 years, during which the Roman armed forces underwent numerous permutations in composition, organization, equipment and tactics, while conserving a core of lasting traditions.

You may have noticed that I’ve referenced a 12-month calendar of events, though I mentioned in the beginning of this post that the winter months were left out of the calendar. The two months that were originally omitted are January and February. It was Numa Pompilius, the second king or Rome (715-673 BC), who divided the year into 12 lunar months. However, the lunar months were not reliable because the moon’s lunation, a period of approximagely 29.5 days, is not the same length of time as the earth’s annual orbit around the sun, a period of approximately 365.25 days. Twelve lunar months are shorter by about 11 days than the solar year (365-354).It wasn’t until 46 BC that a reformed calendar, based on the solar year, was introduced by Caesar, who first heard about it while consorting with Cleopatra.

Here we see Jennifer North, the beautiful and talentless actress who later marries Tony Polar, a talentless singer, modeling a headdress, which was probably inspired by Cleopatra’s wardrobe.

When Caesar finally returned to Rome from Cleopatra and the Egyptian campaign in 46 BC, and was declared dictator, a three-month discrepancy existed between the seasons and their calendar date. The harvest was being celebrated long before the crops even had been taken in. Hence, Caesar’s motivation to reform the Roman calendar.

Of the 277 days of festivals and celebrations on the Roman calendar, approximately 135 days are devoted to women. Ancient Roman woman had little political freedom in society, but substantial freedom outside of politics, and some were outspoken and took an interest in the politics of their day. The status of a woman would vary from a fish monger with very little money to a woman of great wealth who was a daughter of and married to prominent politicians. Anne Wells would have been the latter.

With her good cheekbones and classy good looks, Anne would have fit right in with high society in ancient Roman times. She was beautiful and evoked goddess-like qualities. Goddesses were worshipped as evident by the number of festivals dedicated to them. Many female deities represented different aspects of the natural world. An example is Pomona, the Goddess of fruit trees, orchards and gardens.

Neely would have fallen in the former category of a fish monger.

The last event of the year falls on the 29th of December (same spelling). Compitalia, a rustic celebration at the end of the farming season, actually has no fixed date but falls between the end of Saturnalia (the 24th) and the Nones of January.

Anne had no fixed dates, either. When she first moved to New York City from her picturesque New England hometown of Lawrenceville, she lived at the Martha Washington Hotel for Women, where men were not allowed. Shortly thereafter, Anne has the misfortune to meet and fall in love with cad Lyon Burke.  So, in her book dating was out of the question. Lyon refused to commit to marriage, which was something Anne desperately craved. Lyon ended up having an affair with Neely. As a result, Anne followed suit and fell under the allure of booze and “dolls” to escape her doomed relationship.

Actually, no festival dates could actually be called fixed. This is because the early Roman calendar was based on a lunar cycle, not the solar cycle that we use today. The Romans marked time as being before the cycles of the moon (i.e., five days before the Kalends of October). As such, festival dates changed dates from year to year. The dates given in this post are general dates, and, depending on the calendar one is using, could be off by a few days.

But nothing could be as off as Helen Lawson’s wig. Neely made sure of that. When Neely crashes a press party for Helen’s new show, a scuffle ensues and Neely snatches Helen’s wig.

After trying to flush it down the toilet, Neely tosses the hairpiece over the stall door, where it lands on the floor with a splat. Neely hightails it out of there. Like the women of Roman high society, Helen stands regal. She removes a scarf from her neck and covers her matronly shock of white hair. “I’ll go out the way I came in,” she nobly declares, exiting through the front door.

Respectable Roman women were not supposed to be wandering around alone outside, so it’s a good thing that Helen wasn’t living in ancient Rome upon her exit.

Roman Fasti
Some 200 fragments of Roman calendars have been found so far, and they are collectively known as Fasti. Here are various examples of the calendar:

Some calendars were carved in marble or stone, but many were painted on walls for decoration.

During her stint as The Gillian Girl model, Anne Wells was thrown into a montage of funky ads. The image below depicts Anne spraying “product” at stone and marble archaeological artifacts.

To sum up what we’ve learned, the Roman calendar (c. 700 BC) and Valley of the Dolls (1967 AD) had many similarities:

1. The Roman calendar had many festivals which, one could say, were on the edge of cultish. Valley of the Dolls has a huge cult following.
2. The early Roman calendar was based on the lunar cycle. Neely had cycles of lunacy.
3. Neely defended the sanitarium where she dried out, bellowing that it was not a nuthouse. Romans depended on fruits and nuts. Fruits can be dried out.
4. The large egos of Roman Emperors would cause them to puff out their chests, fueled by their addiction to power. Neely’s addiction was fueled by alcohol and drugs, which made her puffy.