mural painting and decoration, medieval

Photographs and illustrations profile the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy and show what the Basilica looked like before it was destroyed in an earthquake on September 26, 1997.

Examines fresco painting during the late-thirteenth to mid-sixteenth centuries, describes the painting methods used by Alberti, Cennini, Vasari, Pozzo, and others, and interprets passages from rare manuscripts on the causes of fresco destruction and how to clean and repair these works of art.