fresco
Americannoun
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frescoes,
plural
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frescos
plural
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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.
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a picture or design so painted.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a very durable method of wall-painting using watercolours on wet plaster or, less properly, dry plaster ( fresco secco ), with a less durable result
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a painting done in this way
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fresco
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Italian: “cool, fresh,” of Germanic origin; see fresh
Explanation
Whether you've studied art history or not, you're probably familiar with the world's most famous fresco: Michelangelo's paintings on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. To paint a fresco, you must apply paint to freshly applied plaster that is still wet, and you better get it right the first time. Too slow and the plaster hardens, and then you've got a lot of chipping away to do. Fresco comes from the Italian fresco, meaning "cool" or "fresh," which describes exactly the fast, unlabored technique required of fresco painting.
Vocabulary lists containing fresco
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The extraordinary sanctuary offers a “fully private backyard paradise,” the listing states, complete with an al fresco kitchen, fire pit, and tranquil koi pond.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's al fresco speech and news conference on a rooftop in central London on Thursday was a tacit acknowledgement that the political terms of trade have changed.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Renata Pintus, who heads the masonry department at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence's famous restoration workshop, told AFP it had been a "privilege" to work on Giotto's famous fresco cycle.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
During warmer months, the patio offers an excellent spot for al fresco dining.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
With the passage of time, Alba filled not only one but all her bedroom walls with an immense fresco.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
We would be sipping ice-cold spritzes at cafés overlooking the Mediterranean, frolicking down cobblestone streets lined with charming boutiques, and marveling at the frescoes and marble sculptures adorning grand cathedrals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
“You can hear that these buildings carry the echoes of the lives they contained because of the frescoes, the mosaics, the furniture. You feel 2,000 years compress and collapse. It’s like magic.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Once virtually lost to memory after being painted over with whitewash, the frescoes began to be uncovered in the mid-19th century -- but the work left scratches and pockets of white on the frescoed walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Shockwaves from a March 9 airstrike also damaged tiles and cracked frescoes at the 17th-century Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Like certain ancient frescoes entombed for centuries suddenly exposed to the day.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
The Aztecs had an unexpected passion for flowers, I learned, doused themselves in perfumes, wrote epic poetry and painted colorful frescos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The frescos on the ceiling, the intricate wooden and stone carvings that punctuate the space, they’re all in perfect condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Inside the breathtaking Art Deco interiors of the Palais de la Porte Doree, Issey Miyake ’s guests admired wall-to-wall frescos and bas-reliefs of exotic scenes lit up in dappled lighting.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
This puts a strain on the health of the famous frescos.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2024
The figures in these three frescos are colossal, about eight feet in height.
From Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad with Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected Vol. I (of 3) by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson
Once virtually lost to memory after being painted over with whitewash, the frescoes began to be uncovered in the mid-19th century -- but the work left scratches and pockets of white on the frescoed walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
The New York County Courthouse's Roman façade and frescoed interiors have played backdrop to many iconic movies and television shows - perhaps, most famously, Goodfellas.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2023
"Not everyone in the Sistine Chapel. Please! We are much more," she told Reuters at the opening of an exhibition of ceramics within metres of Michelangelo's frescoed masterpiece.
From Reuters ● May 30, 2023
On Tuesday, the two autocratic presidents will dine at a state banquet in a richly frescoed hall used by a long line of Russian czars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Walking into the library, I took in my breath sharply and stopped: glass-fronted bookcases and Gothic panels, stretching fifteen feet to a frescoed and plaster-medallioned ceiling.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The medium made famous by Michelangelo, da Vinci and Fra Angelico, frescoing is a delicate process that entails crushing pigments and painting them into wet plaster before it dries.
From Washington Post ● May 6, 2021
Near the end of his torturous years of frescoing, Michelangelo was painting right over the elevated area where the pope would sit on his gilded throne.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 5, 2012
She studied the green walls with their delicate frescoing, then cautiously leaned back against the President's broadcloth vest.
From The Lilac Lady by Ruth Alberta Brown
There is none of the "dim, religious light" in the interior decoration of white and gold, the subtle colouring of the symbolic frescoing and the brilliance of the gold and brazen altar furnishing.
From Famous Firesides of French Canada by Mary Wilson Alloway
And she picked up her eyebrow pencil again and did a little more frescoing.
From The Camp Fire Girls on the Open Road or, Glorify Work by Hildegard G. (Hildegard Gertrude) Frey
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