Lecture on True Wet Fresco Technique and Minoan Art

True Wet Fresco vs. Dry Fresco

• Dry Fresco: Pigment on a wall
• True Wet Fresco:
  • Pigment applied to wet plaster
  • As plaster dries, calcium carbonate forms, and pigment is absorbed into the wall
  • Very durable and long-lasting
  • Requires expertise; mistakes necessitate chipping out and replastering

Key Example of True Wet Fresco: Minoan Art

• Stylized image of a Minoan woman
  • Features of females are important in Minoan art
• Bull Leaping Fresco
  • Represents a game or ritual involving a bull
  • Multiple narrative: before, during, and after the leap
  • Involves figures with different skin tones: fair skin for women, dark skin for men
  • Border may depict Minoan shields
  • Restoration decisions are made on a case-by-case basis

Definition Recap

• Dry Fresco: Paint on the wall
• True Wet Fresco: Paint on wet plaster becomes part of the wall

Women in Minoan Art

• Women depicted with significant agency
• Matriarchal elements: Property could be passed through the female line
• Depictions: Women seen in roles other than daily chores (e.g., bull leaping, snake goddess)

Snake Goddess Sculpture

• Bare-breasted top with long sleeves, corseted waist, apron-like skirt
• Prominent iconography: Woman holding snakes, wearing a cat on her head
• Physique described as having a "wasp waist"
• Made from a clay-like material called faience

Marine Style Ceramics

• Decorations influenced by the sea (e.g., octopus with tentacles following pot curvature)

Harvester Vase

• Stone vessel with a narrative band depicting people singing and laughing
• Features gold details and relief carving
• Carving technique: Bow drill

Decline of Minoans

• Likely overtaken by Mycenaeans around 1400 BCE
• Ongoing archaeological discoveries in the region