pigmented colorants: dependence on media and time - Cornell ...

However, since mural artwork is typically large, only a portion of the painting
can be completed in one day. The work is hence sectioned off into a “days work”,
or a giornata. Giornate are planned such that they can be completed in under eight
hours each. These giornate are typically arranged such that the seams correspond
to the edges of objects in the preparatory drawing. For instance, in Figure 1.2,
Masaccio’s fresco is sectioned into four giornate: Adam and Eve have their own
respective sections, as well as the cherubim at the top, and the portal from Eden
to Earth on the left.
The permanence of fresco painting does not leave room for error. In Masac-
cio’s work, one readily notices the divisions of the giornate, since the color of the
ultramarine blue in the background sky does not exactly match up between sec-
tions. This is due to difficulty in color matching colored mixtures of paint between
sessions. Massaccio was unable to match the colors since paint of the same compo-
sition looks much different dry than it does wet on an artist’s palette. Not only is
this true for fresco painting, but for all other painting media, including oil, water-
color, and acrylic. Hence, when undertaking such a work, much careful planning is
done as an attempt to avoid this color matching problem–large contiguous sections
are divided into different giornate.
Today, the printing and film industry share a similar goal to that of art and
conservation, as the components of the microscopic colorant particles in printing
inks are very similar to that used in artists’ paint. Hence, the materials are similarly
susceptible to the same effects that result from exposure to atmospheric conditions.
The colored inks will fade from light or airborne chemicals, and the paper will
deteriorate from its own acid content.
While inkjet printers are capable of producing realistic high-resolution images
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