The Massive Fresco at Louisiana State Exhibit Museum

Conrad Albrizio is the artist of the four panels that comprise the massive fresco at the Louisiana State Exhibit Building. The amazing artwork covers 700 square feet of wall space around the Museum’s main entrance on Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Louisiana. Albrizio painted the mural in true fresco technique. This fresco and oil-painted murals throughout the museum depict images of Louisiana’s culture and economic development, including scenes from agriculture, lumber and oil industries, as well as local architecture. Hired by Huey Long to decorate the State Capitol in 1932, Albrizio was a member of the faculty at Louisiana State University. He worked with the Public Works Administration on numerous public art projects completed during the era of the Great Depression.
 

What is a fresco?

Fresco, from the Italian word for “fresh,” is the art of decorating a wall, pillar or ceiling of a building. In a true fresco, the artist must paint on wet plaster and the paint becomes part of the plaster itself and will last as long as the wall does.
 
Fresco on dry plaster began in ancient Egypt and Greece. True fresco exists in Roman cities like Pompei, but also developed much earlier in Mexico. The people of Teotihuacan used fresco technique in the grand temples as well as in houses. The ancient Mexicans particularly loved bright colors and used red, yellow, jade green and bright blues.
 
The most famous fresco is Michelangelo’s Renaissance ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Revived in the 20th century, mural painting had become a popular art form across the country during the 1930s.
 

LSEM’s fresco artist

As noted earlier, Conrad Albrizio painted the mural in true fresco technique on the front of the Louisiana State Exhibit Building in 1938. His blue-line drawings or “cartoons” for the mural explain how he centered the work in a grid pattern, so he could easily transfer it to the wall above the entryway.
 

Restoration of the fresco

Because the museum’s fresco is partially exposed to the elements, it suffered some damage from wind, humidity and temperature. In 2002, the State of Louisiana contracted with C. Elise Grenier to restore the fresco to its original colors. She had studied fresco technique in Florence, Italy, and previously had restored frescoes by Albrizio on the LSU campus.
 

“Cartoons”

The “cartoons” are of the allegorical figure of Agriculture, from the east wing of the portico mural. The drawing at right shows the full face “dotted” in charcoal. Cartoons are drawn on regular paper with pencil, charcoal, sepia chalk, etc. Then, the artist transfers a section of the cartoon to the wall coated with wet, white plaster. Finally, the artist must apply colors quickly, before the plaster dries. The artist completes small sections of the cartoon before moving to another part of the wall. Ms. Grenier created the tiles to explain how the artist transfers the full-scale drawing or “cartoon” for the fresco to the wall. She noted: first, apply the plaster, then line out the drawing with charcoal, then paint the image.
 

The rediscovery of fresco as an art form

Most artists avoid frescoes because they are a lot of work. A layer of plaster will require 10-12 hours to dry; ideally, an artist would begin to paint after one hour and continue until two hours before the drying time. Thus, an artist would need to know exactly how much he could paint in those hours before the plaster dries. Once the image is on the plaster, unlike oil painting, the only way to change it is by removing the plaster and starting again. The Mexican artist Diego Rivera and his wife, Freida Kahlo, visited the United States during the Depression era. Rivera also studied fresco technique in Italy and returned to interpret the method into modern art.          

For Further Information, to Join the Friends, Volunteer or Contact Us ...

For further information, to become a Friend of LSEM, to volunteer or to contact us, call 318-632-2020 or email info@FriendsofLSEM.org.